Key to Return Hearts
by Tashasaurous
Summary: (Another AU of KH3-Not related to my other fanfics): With the final battle against Xehanort looming them and Sora still not having the power of waking, he embarks on one final journey with Donald and Goofy to find another hope to save those lost; the legendary Key to Return Hearts. Meanwhile, Riku and Mickey try to find Aqua and Terra while Kairi and Lea experience challenges.
1. Prologue: The Secret Key

_**Key to Return Hearts.**_

**A/N: I know...I'm starting yet another new story due to writer's block and all. It's a curse sometimes, but I just couldn't leave this idea or hold back the urge to begin it any longer. I know I still have to finish "Kingdom Hearts III: Second War", but...I just felt the need to make another version of Kingdom Hearts 3, completely outside of the Second Chance Universe and definitely outside of my other fanfics.**

**While this is mostly based on the game, it also has ideas that were discarded from the final release and other changes. First off, the Key to Return Hearts. That was never used or was re-translated as the Power of Waking. Secondly, this will have Final Fantasy characters and one certain Disney World that were not in the game. Thirdly, three worlds from the game will be left out of this story: Toy Box, San Fransokyo(as I haven't seen the movie yet) Monsters Inc world(can't remember it's name) and a couple of new worlds will be added as well.**

**Finally, the stupid Black Box thing will also be left out because it makes no sense. So, let's begin with the Prologue, shall we?**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Prologue: The Secret Key.

_~Long, long ago, all the worlds were still one. _

_One day, this would be called the age of fairy tales. _

_It all began here in Daybreak Town. _

_The Master of Masters had an eye that gazes into the future.~_

The room of the Foretellers was almost virtually never empty. Not by anyone's standards. It was a room which large gears that never stopped, a round table with seven chairs, a small corner desk with scientific tubes and such, a book that foretold the future. And two men in black coats. The tallest and oldest, even if he can be childish and mysterious, was known as the Master of Masters, the mentor of his six apprentices. The other, shortest and youngest, a bit shy they say, was known as Luxu. In his hand was a gothic like Keyblade with a symbol of a goat, but it was what was on the tip of the blade itself that was the importance; a blue cat-like eye.

"The Gazing Eye?" Luxu queried at the Keyblade, which that belonged to his mentor who'd now passed it on to him as his successor.

"Uh... That's not what it's called." Said the Master, a bit sheepishly.

"Oh? Then what?"

The Master of Masters, seated by his desk, was silent for a moment before answering. "Actually...no name."

"No Name..." Luxu repeated, gazing at the Keyblade again after taking a look at the Master. Well, that seemed rather unusual for a Keyblade to not have a name.

"Well, _"gazing"_ or not, that Keyblade does have an eye in it." The Master told him, adding rather too casually. "My eye, to be exact."

'_What?!_' Luxu thought, shocked to hear this. Did his mentor really just say that his eye was the eye design of the Keyblade!? But that means...

"Ew!" He flinched, cringing back a bit.

"Oh, you think that's _"gross,"_ do ya?" The Master mocked, though mentally, he couldn't blame the kid. Actually, he didn't mention it but the process of having to do that was...painful.

"N-no!" Luxu quickly denied, not wanting to upset his mentor. But still...

"Yeah, sure." The Master rolled his remaining eye under his hood, but then decided to brush it off and continued, becoming serious once more. "Anyway, about your role. You need to pass down that Keyblade to your apprentice, and then him to his, so that my eye can see the future."

Luxu stiffened slightly at this, as he began to realize what the older man was talking about.

"So the Book of Prophecies..." He began, only to jump slightly when the Master caught him off-guard by pointing at him.

"Bingo!" The Master replied, grinning. "The fact that it exists is proof of your success! That means you've trained a worthy apprentice, passed down that handsome Keyblade, and fulfilled your role!"

He then clapped enthusiastically, "Congratulations!"

When Luxu remained silent as the younger hooded man still couldn't get the picuture, the Master of Masters didn't understand his apprentice's reaction, or rather, there lack of. "What's the matter? Come on, you did a fantastic job! At least smile a little!"

"But I haven't done anything yet..." Luxu pointed out.

An awkward pause of silence.

"Good point." The Master agreed after realizing that Luxu was right, before saying once more. "Guess you better get started then! Unfortunately, you'll have to go alone from here on out. No Book of Prophecies to keep you company, either. I can't have you causing any temporal paradoxes. But, hey, we both know you'll do just fine without it, right?"

Alone? Did the Master really think Luxu had to go off by himself? The apprentice wasn't certain if he liked the sound of that. More than anything, while he wasn't as close to the other apprentices, he trained with them and he did like to consider them as friends.

"Do I really have to go alone? What about the others?" Luxu queried.

"Minor details, so don't sweat it." The Master chuckled, before standing up as he approached the corner of the desk while continuing. "For now, you, that Keyblade, and..."

He pulled something out as Luxu, curious, dismissed his new Keyblade and approached and was surprised when the Master pulled out something that was strikingly familiar but very unfamiliar. "...This Key need to stay out of sight."

"Another Keyblade?" Luxu asked, puzzled. Unlike the Keyblades he has seen, this one was remarkably different. The hilt was black, the handle around it was shaped like a heart in golden colour, the blade resembled that of a silver shiny sword while in the middle was a line which seemed to flow and glow with energy like a stream of light, pink, red and yellowy white in colour, the very tip that went upward was also heart-shaped but with a hole in with two linings. The outside was silver while the inside was also glittering gold.

Finally, the teeth and even the Keychain were crown shapes.

"Well, sort of." The Master shrugged. "This Keyblade is unlike any other. Had to keep it hidden for a long time, because you see, it's not made to be used to fight like other Keyblades. It's a key to restore lost, sleeping or corrupted hearts that were taken over by darkness if it's in the right hands."

His tone then turned serious as he added, "But if anyone with a heart of darkness wields it..."

"It would corrupt hearts that didn't fall into darkness?" Luxu guessed.

"Yep! Pretty much. Just watch with your own eyes-and my eye, of course-as

things unfold between the others. Then when the time is right, go off and do your thing, and then hide this beauty into a place that can only be located by finding seven pieces of light, and I'm not talking about what is foretold in the future. Should anything happen to this blade's chosen, like say...someone who isn't truly chosen by the Keyblade but has a strong heart to accomplish the impossible but lost the power to do so, this will call out to him or her." The Master explained.

"Who would not be truly chosen by the Keyblade but has a strong heart?" Luxu asked, curiously.

"Uh...honestly, that part of the future is kinda fuzzy even I don't have a clue. But hey, they'll come around. Just make sure to pass on only part of this Keyblade's destiny. Can't have anyone with an already corrupted heart go look for the chosen one should things get out of hand someday, even when you and me are long gone." The Master informed him. "So, this is between the two of us. You have to promise that no one finds this until the time is right."

Even though Luxu was concerned about who the corrupted person would be and actually somewhat scared that it could happen in many years to come, maybe in centuries when he would be long gone, he suddenly realized that this was an important responsiblity and that keyblade could be the only hope for peace in the future.

"I promise." Luxu nodded, and as the Master handed him the Keyblade, he carefully took it and nodded to his mentor who nodded back.

"May your heart be your guiding key." The Master told him.

_~In the Master's playful and mischievous way, he gave his apprentice  
__Luxu a very important role. _

_What seemed like a simple task was the element that __would connect all of the events to come._

_The Key to Return Hearts would soon be calling to it's chosen,  
__a Keyblade wielder who was not truly chosen, but has a heart to  
__accomplish many impossible, one having the gift to connect his heart..._

_To many, many others.~_

* * *

_Present Day..._

It hadn't been long since Riku returned with Kairi by his side, which King Mickey Mouse was still stunned and shocked to see and hear that the Princess of Heart, who was also his friend, and the best friend of both Riku and Sora, was now a Keyblade Wielder. Still, he didn't have time to ask how the sixteen year old girl had gotten her Keyblade, as they had more important things to worry about.

So the King stood beside Kairi and Riku as they listened to Master Yen Sid, Mickey's former teacher and old friend, speak of what he had to say.

"The great battle with Xehanort is almost upon us. As you know, we must take action to keep the seven pure lights safe, and thus we must hasten to assemble the seven guardians of light. It is time to return to our world the three Keyblade wielders we lost over a decade ago." Yen Sid adressed the trio.

"Ventus, Terra, and Aqua must be saved from their sad end, for they have more to achieve. Following their first battle with Xehanort, Ventus's heart refused to awaken, and so Aqua found a safe location to conceal him. But when she set off in search of her other missing friend Terra, she fell to a place from which there is no return without outside help." He continued.

When the powerful elderly sorcerer turned his gaze to Mickey, his sharp eyes gazing at the King's kind, soft ones, the young mouse nodded as after for so long even though he felt terrible for not telling anyone of his friends of this, he was finally given permission to reveal another truth. Mickey then turned to look at the two teenagers who gazed at him, as he began to tell a story of one of his adventures from two years ago.

"I saw her. In the realm of darkness." Mickey began.

* * *

At the Dark Margin within the Realm of Darkness, Aqua was once again seated on the dark beach, next to the mysterious but kind figure in the black coat with his hood up. The two had began a routine of this since she first discovered him, discovering what has been happening in the Realm of Light during her absence.

"What do you intend to do now?" The figure queried. He had discovered that the more time he'd spent with the kind, young woman who reminded him of Sora, the more his memories were slowly returning at a steady pace.

Aqua smiled, already knowing what she had to do. While she still had no way of returning to the Realm of Light on her own, the fact that Sora and very likely Mickey were looking for ways to find her and rescue her was enough to keep her resolve alive, as all doubts and fears were locked away once more for the first time in timeless years in the dark realm.

"I'm staying. I've made up my mind until the time is right." Aqua replied. Plus, being in the same spot or at least near it, it would make it a little bit easier for anyone to find her. Even though she didn't want Sora or Mickey to risk their lives to come here to rescue her, she knew there wasn't much of a choice.

The two fell into a comfortable silence, which given how they'd been alone for so long, being in each other's company was the best thing either one had since entering the realm of darkness. Better than being constantly surrounded by Heartless that wanted to devour their hearts. Even if the dull white moon or sun remained in it's place, at least it was some light.

When she spent time here, fighting Heartless, Aqua hardly remembered much being here, but she kept onto her memories of her time in the realm of light, of her friends, her adventures, their battles against Master Xehanort and Vanitas, and saving Terra while taking his place to become trapped here. However, she didn't remember of what occured two years ago, not even the beginning of the latest threat.

"_**Only your heart is hollow enough to be a demon's.**_"

Gasping softly at the sudden, somehow familiar, dark and chilling voice that rang in her mind, Aqua jolted slightly when not only something uncomfortably stirred in her heart, but she also sensed powerful darkness and movement creeping...and getting closer. Looking sharply behind her, which the figure noticed this before looking to see what was wrong, their eyes widened as a huge number of Heartless appeared and formed into a Demon Tide.

"Careful!" Aqua exclaimed as she jumped to her feet and flicked her wrist to summon the Master's Defender Keyblade. She turned to her only company and told him firmly, "Stand back. I'll handle this!"

Despite not wanting to leave the young woman to fight on her own, the figure knew he had very little choice. So, after reluctantly nodding and telling her to be careful, he stepped aside as back back as possible. Aqua in the meantime turned her focus to the Heartless that launched towards her. She cartwheeled out of the way to avoid in getting hit before immediately slashing at it, knocking back some of the Heartless before it went too far and out onto the water, diving in.

Aqua quickly tried to sense where it would attack next before the Demon Tide emerged from the ground and knocked her back. But she managed to flip and land safely before casting Firaga at it, doing minimal damage but enough for her to dodge more of it's attacks before finding herself able to actually run and stand on the water like it wasn't deep at all, but as she did, her heart beated hard and loudly and it was actually painful. She tried to ignore it and instead swiped her Keyblade at the very top of the Demon Tide when it lunged at her at the wrong time.

She fought long and hard both on the beach and on the water which the latter part ached her heart each time and Aqua had no idea why, but she tried to keep ignoring it and focused on her fight against the Heartless with her skills and magic. Eventually she seemed to have defeated it as it sank into the water, and Aqua tried to sense any movements from it. When she found that she couldn't, she sighed in a bit of relief before hurrying back to the beach as the figure in the black coat waited on the shores.

"Are you alright, Aqua?" The man asked, worriedly.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank y-" Aqua cut herself off when she suddenly sensed more darkness and to her horror, another Demon Tide emerged from the ground behind the man who sensed it too late as it was already descending towards them, leaving them with no time to move out of the way together. Without much of a plan and knowing it was the only way, Aqua knew what she had to do, even if it risked her life.

"Look out!" She screamed, shoving the man out of the way to the side while she had her Keyblade ready and tried to focus her magic as quickly as possible. Unfortunately she'd only been fast enough to at least not dismiss her Keyblade and having saved the man. The Heartless though engulfed her and flew towards the water.

Aqua let out a loud scream as the Heartless attacked her from within the tide and even though she grunted and only managing to slash at a few with her Keyblade, breaking free, it left her defendless as she dropped from the Demon Tide before falling right into the water that was very deep and began to sink while the Heartless, as though sastified, vanished.

The figure, his hood falling when Aqua pushed him out of the way, revealing his blond hair and beard, aging face and orange kind eyes, was devastated as he saw what happened, reaching out before realizing it was too late. Horrified and distraught at the woman sacrificing herself to save his life, he fell to his knees in dismay, not wanting to believe that the young woman had just now fallen into the deepest abyss of darkness.

Even worse, because of Aqua's sacrifice, the man's memories came flooding back; Sora, Mickey, and many others he didn't recognize before, now he did remember, appeared in his mind. Even his own name came back to him, but none of that gave him any comfort. If anything, it ached his heart terribly. Yet another young person's life had been ruined because of his actions, and this time she had just saved his own life.

"I had a feeling you were here, Ansem the Wise. It's a pity that foolish Keyblade wielder risk her life to save you and now will become one with darkness." A familiar, dark voice chuckled coldly behind him.

The man, identified as Ansem the Wise, looked behind him and in both shock and horror, out from a corridor of darkness was another figure in a black coat much like his own; Xehanort's Heartless, who had stolen Ansem's name and renamed himself as "Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness", thought to have been destroyed himself, yet was standing right there as though Sora and his friends never defeated him.

"...Xehanort." Ansem grunted angrily. "So it was YOU who sent the Heartless. Tell me. Why are you here?"

"To collect you, of course. You are far too valuable to be left here in the realm of darkness. Your research is much needed." The fake Ansem smirked, approaching Ansem the Wise who continued to glare at him. "But first, I had to get rid of that woman with the Keyblade as she posed a threat. Now that she is out of the way and will soon turn into a hybrid of a Heartless, all that is left is for you to come with me."

Ansem gritted his teeth angrily. "I would rather die than help you, Xehanort."

Xehanort's Heartless's smirk faded into a frown, before he forcefully grabbed Ansem by the arm and yanked up not too gently, saying as he forced the older man with him despite his struggles. "You have no choice, Ansem. Now move it."

Left with very little choice and forced into the portal that would no doubt lead them back into the realm of light, Ansem knew that there was nothing that could be done now to help Aqua and could only hope that Sora and his friends would at least defeat Xehanort once and for all again, even if they were too late to save the young woman who had been trapped here for far too long.

* * *

In the water sinking, Aqua began to lose her strength as she found herself unable to resurface since this water was nothing like in the realm of light. To make things worse, a dark spot that hit her on the chest when the Demon Tide swallowed her up began to sink into her chest painfully and coldly, and then slowly but quickly spread across her body.

'_What is this feeling?_' She thought to herself, finding herself losing consciousness, and as such, her grip on her Keyblade loosened and soon it sank away from her into another direction, glittering in light before fading away, but not dismissing itself back into her body. But to somewhere else. Aqua in the meantime, finding that she could somehow breathe underwater, could only mutter one name of someone she knew...

Someone whom wasn't at fault...but the darkness was taking control over her, making her finally lose her battle to hold back the darkness.

"Mickey..."

* * *

No sooner had Mickey finished retelling his story of how when he entered the Realm of Darkness that he found and saved Aqua, and the two teamed up to find the Kingdom Key of Darkness, how they were on the other side of the fake Ansem's Kingdom Hearts and that Aqua had risked her life to save Riku who had just been racing the doors after Mickey made mental contact with him with his heart, and that the Heartless separated her from them and driven her back into the darkness and Mickey been unable to reach her, he somehow heard something ring in his ears, his mind and in his heart.

"_...Mickey..._"

"Huh?" Mickey blinked, before gazing to his left and at the window. Was that...Aqua calling out to him? Could it mean that she was somehow trying to make contact with him, the way he managed to do so with Riku at Castle Oblivion? Or was it just Mickey's imagination?

"I thought...I heard her voice in the distance." Mickey muttered, confused. He tried to listen out with his heart, but quickly found that it faded as soon as it appeared unexpectedly. It was left with silence, allowing Kairi and Riku to absorb everything they heard about Aqua, the brave and noble Keyblade Master who didn't deserve to be trapped all alone in the dark, cold, lonely and terrifying place such as the realm of darkness, yet she did for twelve years.

Twelve, long and unbearable years, and it made Riku angry, upset, worried and guilty. Angry and upset that he never knew about this and Mickey, his closest friend besides Sora and Kairi, had kept this from him. Worried and guilty because Riku felt that it was his own fault for not having noticed and Aqua chose to save him while he did nothing...making him feel terrible for failing to save her.

"She sacrificed herself to save me?" Riku asked softly in disbelief, before turning to Mickey in frustration, lashing out at him without even thinking which would've reminded Kairi and Mickey of how Sora would've reacted. "Why did you keep it from me for so long?"

Mickey gazed at his friend, feeling terrible for not having told him sooner, let alone let Aqua down even though he felt that he did.

"I had to respect her choice." The King replied.

"What about us? You could've given us a choice! We could have gone and helped her!" Riku argued angrily.

"...I know..." Mickey admitted, lowering his head and closing his eyes in guilt, feeling so ashamed with himself. For the past twelve years, ten before he even knew that his fellow Keyblade Master had been trapped in the realm of darkness but had been missing, Mickey had blamed himself for not being able to help her, or save Ven's heart and stop Vanitas from overtaking it to form the false X-Blade.

The King tried for a long time to save his missing friends, and had foolishly believed that their sacrifices stopped Master Xehanort for good, but had been blinded by his own gullibility, which in retrospect, Mickey knew that being gullible and naive always got him into trouble. He thought that when he trained under Master Yen Sid, Mickey had outgrown that and become more responsible, especially when he became King. But now he knew that he never outgrew it, and had gotten everyone else involved.

Mickey had wanted to bring Aqua home, but the realm of darkness terrified him, and what scared him the most was that he could end up trapped all over again with no hope of coming back home, or that his friends he still had were in trouble and needed his help, or other distractions and that only made him feel even worse.

Fortunately, before he could end up being scolded by Riku, Yen Sid stepped in.

"Do not be rash, Riku." The Sorcerer told him. "As Mickey told you clearly in his story, reaching the realm of darkness the first time was not a simple task. And even if we had found a way back in, regrettably none of us possessed the necessary means to get Aqua back out safely. So I forbade Mickey from telling you, let alone going after her."

"Why keep it secret?" Riku demanded, gazing at the sorcerer while Kairi looked at her friend in concern.

"That much is obvious. If not you, then certainly Sora would have staged a reckless attempt at rescue." Yen Sid answered.

Hearing this made Riku reluctantly settled down with a resigned sigh. The sorcerer was right. Going into the realm of darkness wasn't something to be done easily or recklessly, and even how much it can effect anyone from the realm of light should they go in there, they could end up lost forever with no hope of returning home. Back then two years ago, Riku had been terrified and alone, but that didn't stop him feeling guilty at the fact that Aqua, who had been there much longer than he had, willingly lost her chance at freedom to save him and Mickey. Not to mention that Mickey himself was probably traumatized because of it.

The fact that his friend had lost three friends, one of them being in the worst place possible, and tried so hard to bring them back even on his own without risking the lives of the rest of his friends and feeling guilty for failing, Riku quickly felt bad for lashing out at him. Mickey too had saved him, and Sora, Donald and Goofy on many occasions. He had such a bleeding heart that he would do anything but also knew that the risks were too great.

"But now, we can go help Aqua." Mickey spoke up as he took a couple steps closer, his resolve renewed. He then gazed at Riku and gave him a determined smile. You and I-we're gonna go find her!"

Quickly seeing and hearing this, Riku nodded without second thoughts. He'd been rescued enough times already; now it was his turn to help someone and return them to the light, like how he saved Sora and woke him up a short time ago.

"Yeah! Count me in!" Riku readily agreed, and Mickey nodded, smiling happily.

"Who's this new Riku and where's the old one?" Kairi teasingly asked as she stepped in, giggling in amusement.

"New me?" Riku asked, slightly confused.

"Yeah." Kairi replied, giggling again. "You're more like Sora."

Realizing this, Mickey nodded in agreement with a laugh of his own.

"Should I be flattered?" Riku smirked, realizing what his friend was talking about. "I try too hard to be the role model. It's more fun to just listen to my heart. Which is Sora-esque." He shrugged as he said this.

"Well, we still like you." Kairi laughed, which made Riku laugh as well. They really missed the times of hanging out together, especially with Sora. While making a mental note to make up for it, Kairi then gazed at Yen Sid and with the mood turning serious again, approached the desk with intention. "Master, I came here because I wanted to help somehow. What can I do?"

"I have entrusted the wizard Merlin to oversee the training for our new Keyblade wielders, yourself and Lea." Yen Sid responded, accepting the teenage girl's resolve despite that it was putting her at risk, but she wanted to join in keeping the worlds safe, and thus he accepted her request. Unlike most of the Princesses, Kairi was the only one who was fully bold and brave. There was one exception, but thus far Kairi was the only Princess of Heart to become a wielder of the Keyblade.

"Lea?" Kairi muttered, confused at the unfamiliar name. Who was Lea?

The answer she got from Mickey was the last thing she expected.

"He means Axel." Mickey promptly answered.

"What!?" Kairi gasped, alarmed and suddenly quickly afraid. At the mention of Axel's name, it brought back very uncomfortable memories that terrified her. While she had heard from Sora that Axel wanted to find his friend Roxas, who was Sora's Nobody, and that the redhaired Nobody, the Assassin of Organization XIII, had sacrificed himself to stop a large horde of Nobodies to save Sora, Donald and Goofy and gave them the passage to the Organization's world before he died, and that he was sorry for what he did to her, Kairi was still uncertain.

But to hear that Axel was still alive, under the name of Lea? And having a Keyblade of his own, training with Merlin? Kairi didn't know what to do or think.

"Aw, he's a regular person now." Mickey reassured encouragingly, as though sensing Kairi's unease. "He even saved Sora for us. You can trust him!"

Kairi still felt uncertain and a bit scared, however. She turned to Riku who gave her an assuring smile and nod, agreeing with the King. Well, if they and Yen Sid and even Sora felt that Lea can be trusted, then Kairi knew that she had to trust him too. Who knows? Maybe she could become friends with him, but she didn't want to jump to that conclusion just yet. So in the end, if she wanted to help her friends, she had to hold in her fears and train alongside her former kidnapper.

With that, Mickey began to walk out, gesturing Riku to join him. "C'mon, Riku. It's time for us to go. First, we gotta find an entrance to the realm of darkness, and then-"

"Mickey." Yen Sid's voice stopped the pair and Kairi from leaving. When the trio looked back, the sorcerer magically conjored two large suitcases with a wave of his hand. "Take these along with you. The three good fairies asked that you be presented with them. They are new vestments which will shield the both of you from the darkness. Before you enter the Realm of Darkness, first take Kairi to Radiant Garden where Merlin will be waiting. I will informed him and Lea to expect her arrival."

Seeing this and very relieved that they wouldn't have to worry about being swallowed up by darkness, the King and Riku approached the desk once more. Mickey took the smallest suitcase while Riku took the largest.

"Thank you, Master." The two chorused as they bowed their respects to the Sorcerer, before they shared a glance as Riku slinged his suitcase over his shoulder with a confident smirk.

"Okay, let's go!" Mickey told his friend, before taking the lead once more as the two teenagers out of the door to start their assignments.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the still sleeping world of Traverse Town in the Realm of Sleep, Sora, having come back here in the present to meet up with his Dream Eater friends to thank them for helping him on his journey during the Mark of Mastery Exam, was finishing up the last of his self-training as he slashed two more Nightmare-Dream Eaters into oblivion with the slash of his Keyblade, the Kingdom Key of Light.

Sighing in relief once he saw that they were gone for now, Sora straightened himself up and sighed, rolling his shoulders one by one to ease the tension before sighing again, this time in disappointment. While what he said to Riku when his friend had woke him up from Xehanort's darkness of a nightmare, that Sora never felt better, he noticed a complete downside to that.

Since he came here for a bit of training to see if he was up for another round and hopefully another chance at the Mark of Mastery to claim the power to awaken hearts, Sora found that some of his powers hadn't been working right. Sure he can still use magic, but he felt...a bit drained. Like he lost them like when he woke up from a year of sleep.

"Maybe I'm still adjusting in being back to normal." He muttered to himself. Now that he thought of it, maybe Sora should've waited a bit longer before coming back here to the Realm of Sleep. But...he'd been eager to say thanks to the Spirit-Dream Eaters since he didn't get the chance to, no thanks to Organization XIII-the real Organization XIII.

Finding that he wasn't going to get any answers here, and that he did promise Riku, Donald, Goofy and King Mickey that he'd be back soon, and even Axel-or was it Lea?-had the right to be assured considering that he is Roxas's best friend, Sora nodded to himself.

"I'd better head back. Bet the others are worried sick by now." Sora concluded.

_**Heart of Strong Will...**_

"Huh!?" Sora jumped, alarmed as he heard an unfamiliar voice, somehow soundless but seeing words form in his mind, but finding no one in the Second District he was at. Who said that? Was it Xehanort trying to trick him again? This thought alone was enough to make Sora unexpectedly gulp somewhat nervously. He didn't want a repeat of what happened to him after fighting Xemnas.

_**Do not be afraid...**_

"Who's there?" Sora called out, holding a tight grip on his Keyblade, spinning back and forth to find the source. He suddenly had a sense of deja vu coming to him, but in a different way.

_**Seven pieces of Light...needed to be found...**_

"Seven pieces...of light? You mean the Princesses? Or seven Keyblade wielders? I don't understand." Sora replied. The voice didn't seem like a threat, but he didn't want to take his chances.

_**Seven Princesses...past and present generation...Seven Guardians of Light...Seven pieces of Light...You need to find them...to find the Key to save hearts...connected to your own. Even hearts that sleep within you...the Time has come...to begin your new journey...**_

"The Key...to save hearts? But...I don't think I have that kind of power yet." Sora pointed out, still confused. But only silence followed, and despite Sora calling out to whoever it was that spoke to him just then, it was gone just as it had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

What was that voice talking about?

Finding that he wasn't going to get answers out of this either, Sora sighed before deciding, "Maybe King Mickey and Master Yen Sid would know. They're good at stuff like that."

So after he found all of the Dream Eaters he made friends with at the First District and thanking them once again, before having a somewhat emotional goodbye to them and promising to always remember them, Sora then held up his Keyblade as a beam of light shot up into the Keyhole that materialized in the night sky, revealing a portal that would take him back home, to the Realm of Light.

Sora soon felt himself floating and with a nod and an excited smile, he allowed it to engulf him as he flew up into it, ready to reunite with everyone else.

Unaware that his next journey was about to begin, and the final clash against Xehanort would soon start.

* * *

**A/N: So there you have it. The Key to Return Hearts will be an important role in Sora's journey, and also, since how Aqua lost Eraqus's Keyblade and it somehow appeared on Destiny Islands that no one even noticed given the time-difference made no sense, I thought it was better to make Aqua lose it at the dark shores where it would end up in the Realm of Light itself.**

**...And I'm also aware of Aqua's situation...so please don't be hate me! I promise she will be saved as will everyone else!**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 1: The New Journey

**A/N: Hey, guys! It's me again! I know it's a bit late to say it, but Happy Easter! Hope you all had a great day as I did. To add to the good mood, I've added a new chapter to this story! Let's continue on. Oh, and this story will have a bit more spotlight on Kairi, Lea, King Mickey and Riku, and a few others!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 1: The New Journey.

In a beautiful forest of another world, one that is the most unusual, with a cliffside that overviewed another forest with a morning sun or an afternoon sun, depending on the person's perspective, Lea, still in his Organization coat he wore when he was Axel, was taking a break from the strain of just trying to summon his new Keyblade, which he named it the Flame Liberator. He was leaning against a tree just at the mouth opening of the forest, gazing at the sunlight with a sigh.

He had thought he was making a bit of a progress, but like before he willingly went to save Sora from Xehanort, the old guy who Lea had been admittedly shocked to find was much older than he thought, but insanely powerful and extremely dangerous, Lea had trouble in summoning his Keyblade. How he managed it the first time had been unexpected luck and guess afterwards.

But he was having a bit of trouble having it materialize again. Still, Lea knew he would get it eventually. He was determined to do so, because he wanted to help Sora and his friends to face the new Organization XIII. But more than anything, he wanted to bring back Roxas...this time without harming Sora. Lea also had to bring Isa to his senses, even by clobbering his former best friend on the head.

"Lea?"

Lightly startled out of his thoughts, Lea turned to see Merlin approach from the forest. The younger man stood up straight from his comfortable leaning position to fully face his temporary teacher who, while not a Keyblade wielder and hated in being called old, did a good job with his training considering.

"Hey, Merlin. Think I'm about ready to try again." The redhead greeted with a wave.

"Actually, I've come here with some news. Your training has been changed, because from today, you will no longer be training on your own." The Wizard replied.

Lea blinked in surprise. What did the old man mean by that? Was he going to train with Sora? Did something happen?

"Huh?" Was all he could say.

"Like you, there's another young one who is also a new Keyblade Wielder. One that you clearly know, so I expect you two to get on nicely." Merlin explained.

Another new Keyblade wielder like him? Someone he knew? The only Keyblade wielders Lea knew of were Sora, Riku and the King. Unless either Donald or Goofy somehow got new Keyblades...

Nah, it couldn't be. Donald still didn't like him and Lea couldn't blame him for that, given his history as Axel, and Goofy was...well, goofy. Admittedly smart and a good guy to hang out with, and very loyal to his friends and had been willing to trust Lea, but...having a Keyblade never came across the Captain's mind. Heck, he used a Shield in fights which told the redhead that despite being Captain of the Knights, Goofy didn't like fighting at all.

So...who was it then?

The answer he got was the last thing he expected; as Merlin moved aside, Lea's new training partner nervously approached. His eyes widened in shock, surprise and disbelief as the person was none either than the familiar darker-red haired girl in the pink dress and purple shoes, always wearing her pearl necklace.

"...Kairi?" Lea gapped, unable to say anything else. No way...Kairi had a Keyblade now too? When did she become one? Well...at least she was saved, and that gave him a mixture of relief and suddenly guilt that emerged within his chest and heart. The fact that she looked nervous, and Lea had a feeling it was because of him rather than beginning her training.

Kairi, having just been dropped off by Riku and Mickey who, after donning their new vestments, once again gave her words of encouragements to trust Lea before leaving for the realm of darkness to rescue Aqua, gazed up at the tall man with a bit of fear, but tried to hold it back with a slight nod.

"...Hello, Ax-I mean, Lea." Kairi greeted, quickly correcting herself as she remembered that Axel had regained his heart and was now human again. Still, it made her nervous to see her former kidnapper again, and being this close to him.

"Uh...um...Hi, to you too." Lea awkwardly replied, rubbing the back of his neck. Oh boy...he really needed to apologize to the poor girl. Sure he had known that she was brave enough to go after Sora, but that didn't change the fact of how Lea treated Kairi and he had a feeling it was going to take a long while to make up for it. He just hoped she wouldn't start yelling at him, even if he deserved it.

"Master Yen Sid instructed that the both of you train together with your Keyblades. Now remember, time in this place runs differently to the Realm of Light, so you can train as long as you need. For the moment, we will focus on the two of you to call upon your Keyblades. But I expect you both to get along." Merlin spoke up, making the two redheads turn to face him and they nodded their understanding.

"For today, you will commucate with one another. After you had your rest, training will continue and begin. I will be back later." Merlin concluded, and both Kairi and Lea both bowed slightly their respects with short thank yous before the Wizard teleported away, leaving the two by themselves.

They were left in an awkward silence, before Lea shifted uncomfortably, and even even more so when Kairi nervously gazed up at him again as she cringed a bit even though she tried to hide it. Lea sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought.

"Kairi? I...uh..." Lea began, and when Kairi didn't move, he sighed in guilt. "I...I know that you're kinda nervous and I get that. I just wanna say...I'm sorry for what I did to you when I was Axel."

Kairi blinked in surprise when Lea said this. This was a huge different construct to how Axel treated her when they first met. But then she started to think that maybe it's because now that the man in front of her had a heart, or maybe what Sora said was true changed the red haired man somehow, that he really did feel bad for kidnapping her.

So, deciding that, fear or not, she really should try and give Lea another chance, Kairi sighed and replied with a small smile. "It's okay. I heard that you saved Sora, twice now. He told me that you apologized when you...disappeared. So...Thank you."

Lea felt his face heat up slightly, and he looked away in embarrassment before clearing his throat.

"No problem. Still...I'm really sorry." He replied, feeling more and more awkward and knew that it was going to take a long while before he can feel comfortable with Kairi around and he had a feeling that she would end up in the similar situation to feel comfortable with him.

But when he looked at her again, Lea blinked in surprise as for a split second he felt something surge within his chest. For some reason, there was something about...Kairi's face that suddenly reminded him of someone. Like a missing piece of his heart, which made no sense. It...somehow began to hurt and the redhead had no clue why that was.

"What's wrong?" Kairi asked, noticing Lea's expression, which quickly brought him back to reality.

"...Dunno. I kinda get the feeling I'm missing something. Not sure what, though." Lea replied, shrugged a little. He then cleared his throat and decided to change the subject. "So um...you can wield a Keyblade now too?"

"Y-yes. I haven't gotten the hang of it. Riku gave to me and for a strange reason, it didn't disappear which somehow shows that I'm able to wield it...I just haven't been able to summon it right yet." Kairi replied.

Lea was surprised to hear that, then smiled a little sheepishly. "I only managed to get it materialize once so far. Been trying to get it right since then. It's kinda a lot harder than it looks."

He then gave her a confident grin and added, "But I just know that you and me can get it right. It'll take a while, but, we'll get there. Got it memorized?"

Kairi actually giggled and, even though she was still nervous around him, she actually began to feel a bit more relaxed. She knew she still had to be careful, but slowly but surely she began to feel that Lea was someone she can trust. So far, he had been apologetic, and he seemed to be nice and his confidence began to remind her of Sora and Riku.

"Yeah." She replied with a nod.

It would take a while, but both Kairi and Lea would soon find that they will get along. That they would soon become friends and their training would more than just learning how to wield and fight with Keyblades.

* * *

Back at the Mysterious Tower, Sora had just returned when he'd been welcomed by enthusiastic hugs from Donald and Goofy who expressed their concerns and he quickly told them that he was fine.

"Guys, I'm fine, really!" Sora laughed, even though he was happy to see them. "I told you I wouldn't be long."

"You were gone along enough!" Donald pointed out as he and Goofy ended the hug after a long while which was really about eight minutes.

"Yeah, well, I still gotta see the others. I've made some progress." Sora replied, winking before he and his two companions headed inside and up the familiar stairs that lead up into Yen Sid's study.

Donald and Goofy were a bit surprised and somehow beaten Sora do the top. They shared a glance while wondering what Sora did in the Realm of Sleep. They had been worried, and had even seen Mickey and Riku who both gained new clothes, and Kairi leave on their new assignments. They tried to tell Sora, but he'd been eager to reach the top.

"Okay, start talking." Donald told Sora, skeptically.

"You were gone a long time. What were ya doin'?" Goofy asked, curiously.

Sora grinned as he replied playfully, "Secret."

Without giving them any more answers, Sora threw the door open into the main chamber, hoping to catch Riku and Mickey by surprise.

"I'm back!" Sora called out while Goofy chuckled behind him...only for both of them and Donald to find that Yen Sid was the only one present. Sora blinked in confused as he and his two friends entered the room while Donald closed the door behind him. "Huh? Just the four of us? Where are the others?"

"The others all had important work to do. So I sent them on their way." Yen Sid answered, while mentally relieved that Sora had returned. While he hadn't been overly concerned for the boy's decision to re-enter the realm of sleep as he knew part of the teenager's intentions, it was still concerning given how Sora had come dangerously close in becoming Xehanort's final vessel.

"Aw...that's just great." Sora pouted, disappointed as he folded his arms. "They coulda said good-bye."

"It's your fault you missed them." Donald pointed out, glaring at the teenager.

"It is not. I just like to say good-bye to all my friends." Sora counterd, placing his hands behind his head.

"Then do it faster!"

"I'm here now, aren't I?"

Goofy gulped nervously as both Sora and Donald glared each other as they were about to enter yet another one of their bickering, the two daring at one another to keep the argument going. Sometimes Sora liked to take his time but sometimes took too long, but at the same time, Donald had never been one for patience and that usually got him into heaps of trouble. Then again Sora sometimes was just as impatient as well.

Thankfully Yen Sid intervened before the bickering could really begin. "We have matters to discuss." He spoke authoritively, getting the trio's attention.

Sora, Donald and Goofy glanced at the Sorcerer before quickly standing attention as Yen Sid continued. "In order to defeat Xehanort, there are allies we must gather, acting now to rouse them from their slumber. We have discussed this before, Sora."

When the trio nodded their understanding as they remembered clearly, the sorcerer added. "Your Mark of Mastery exam was conducted in the hopes you would acquire the power to wake them."

Sora folded his arms as he nodded, remembering that as well while thinking to himself. He had thought it long and hard and he was more than ready to rescue those who were connected to his heart. Well...Axel was already saved, because he came back as a human named Lea. He wasn't sure why, but Sora had a feeling, that when he was there when Axel had sacrificed himself, that was part of his duty to save him from the hurting.

While Sora knew that Lea had apologized before he left for Radiant Garden, the spiky haired teen told him it was okay and had thanked him for saving him from Xehanort, and had promised to figure out how to bring Roxas back. Sora wasn't sure how yet, but considering that Lea missed him like when Sora missed Riku, he knew what it was like and Sora still felt it was unfair that Roxas and Namine didn't have the chance to be their own selves, just for his and Kairi's sakes. So he then realized that Lea was still hurting...because he still didn't have his best friend. Sora then knew he had to cure Lea's heart somehow and he had a feeling that in order to do that, he had to bring Roxas back.

Plus there were four others; the mysterious girl with the black hair that looked like Kairi, and Sora felt Roxas's pain. She was familiar, but Sora couldn't quite picture it. He also knew...something horrible happened to her, and he quickly knew she had to be saved as well. Then there were the three other Keyblade wielders before him and Riku. Ventus, Aqua, and Terra, who had been missing for twelve years.

"However, the darkness nearly took control of you, and your grasp of your new abilities leaves much to be desired." Yen Sid continued, making Sora gasp softly. "Furthermore, Xehanort nearly made you his vessel, and in the process stripped you of most of the power you had gained by then. I suspect you have already noticed this, correct?"

Sora's arms lowered as he heard this, while Donald and Goofy both glanced at him worriedly. Sora had been meaning to ask what was wrong since he noticed in the Realm of Sleep to thank the Dream Eaters, but when Yen Sid answered his unasked question, the teenager felt his heart sink. Well, that at least explained why he felt a bit drained, and no wonder too.

'_Ah, great._' Sora thought to himself as he sighed, slumping slightly in disappointment. Great, now it was like when he entered that one year of sleep and on top of that, he even lost the chance to get the Power of Waking.

"Sora..." Donald and Goofy chorused worriedly.

Sensing the concern in his friends, and, also remembering all was not lost as Sora knew he'd gotten his powers back before, he could do it again, he immediately perked up. So he lost them, but it wasn't the end of the worlds.

"Whatever! It happened before, but I got them back the last time. I can do it again!" Sora replied with an reassuring grin, ignoring the puzzled expressions on Donald and Goofy on how he managed to perk up so quickly.

"I have no doubt that you will." Yen Sid agreed, as he knew that there may be a chance and if Sora remembered the last time it happened, then given time the boy will get his powers back, one way or another. "Chip and Dale are currently analyzing data that Ansem the Wise provided to Riku and which could offer us a clue to retrieving our friends' lost hearts. I have very high hopes for this data. However, our greatest chance of stopping Xehanort's plan still lies with you, Sora."

Sora was surprised to hear this. Despite what has happened, the sorcerer still believed Sora himself was the key to stop Xehanort's plans once and for all? He wasn't a Keyblade Master yet, but given that he stopped the Fake Ansem and Xemnas before, maybe there was another chance at this.

"If you trust the guidance your heart gives, I know we will find all of the guardians of light. But first, you must regain all the strength you have lost. Perhaps it is foolish to expect a complete recovery, but it is absolutely vital you perfect one power-the power of waking, which you failed to master during your exam. There's someone who lost his strength and found it again, a true hero to whom you ought to pay a visit." The Sorcerer continued.

Hearing the word of true hero, Sora gave out an excited smile as he immediately knew who Yen Sid was talking about and remembered the last time he saw said true hero. Sora then dramatically posed reflexes which startled Goofy while annoying Donald at the aforementioned hero.

"Perhaps he can point you in the right direction." Yen Sid concluded.

"Got it!" Sora saluted firmly. This was an important task and he was more than ready to undertake it. No matter how hard it was, he would not give up.

"Master Yen Sid..." Donald spoke up, as he and Goofy stepped up.

"You can count on us to take care of Sora!" Goofy concluded for his friend, as the two wanted to be by Sora's side just in case. Plus, they also wanted to help in stopping Xehanort, even if they were both not Keyblade wielders, but that didn't stop them for going anyway.

Somehow having sensed this and decided not to argue and that he felt more comfortable if Sora had company this time, Yen Sid nodded to Mickey's two closest friends and trusted loyal allies. "I would have it no other way. I put Sora in your hands."

Rather than being annoyed to be babysat, Sora instead felt even more excited. This was going to be like old times! He happily pulled his two old companions into a group hug while speaking their names.

"You can't become a master without us!" Donald told him, which surprised and confused Sora.

"I never woulda thought you'd fail that exam, Sora." Goofy added.

"Hey!" Sora pouted, pulling way from the embrace as he glared at them.

"Face it, you're just a half-pint." Donald continued wryly.

"But the three of us together make a whole pint!" Goofy interjected with a wide smile.

Sora shook his head as he corrected with his hands on his hips. "Pint and a half."

"And don't forget, we'll keep an eye on you." Donald said with a wide smile of his own now, holding out his hand flat.

"Oooh, this is gonna be lots of fun!" Goofy said excitedly while placing his hand on top of Donald's.

"This isn't a vacation." Sora pointed out, before he happily placed his hand on top of Goofy's and declared in equal excitement. "Let's go!"

The trio then lined up and saluted to Yen Sid who nodded back to them before sending them on their way. Whatever dangers they would have to face, Sora, Donald and Goofy knew that they wouldn't be alone. Like their two previous adventures, they can handle anything no matter how hard it was or would be.

* * *

Whatever excitement the trio had was now drained, because no sooner when Sora, Donald and Goofy boarded the Gummiship which was now cruising through the familiar space of the realm of light across worlds, Sora soon realized that he couldn't even find a way back to any of the worlds apart from Destiny Islands, Disney Castle and Yen Sid's Tower. Which had Goofy a bit concerned and Donald waiting impatiently.

After trying and failing in coming up with an idea, Sora sighed before leaning in his seat, his hands behind his head as he asked aloud, "How're we supposed to get there now?"

"What!?" Donald exclaimed. "I thought you knew!"

"Looks like all the old highways are closed." Goofy pointed out, also having realized the same thing as Sora did. He then asked when he remembered something. "Didn't Master Yen Sid say that Sora should trust the guidance his heart gives?"

"C'mon, Sora! Which way?" Donald urged. When Sora didn't answer straight away and was thinking hard on what to do and how to trust the guidance with his heart, once again the mage got too impatient and scolded him. "Hey, would you get serious?"

"Gimme a break, I'm trying." Sora countered with exasperation, wishing that Donald would be patient. "These things take time!"

"Oooh..." Donald grumbled.

"Well, since we've already been before, why don't you try picturing our

friends like we're there?" Goofy suggested.

He had a good point. Sora stood up and walked around the chair, deciding to try and take up Goofy's advice. He even reflexed his muscles...That didn't open up a gateway to the friends he and the others wanted and needed to see either.

"Well?" Donald asked.

"Sorry, I got nothin'. What did you expect?" Sora replied, just as frustrated as the magican was, which made the latter slump in his seat in defeat.

Silence followed with the trio as they were all disappointed that none of them could think of anything, which ultimately meant that they were stuck. How can they begin their new journey if they didn't have a clue on what to do? Maybe they should head back to the Tower and ask for Yen Sid's advice, though they didn't want to report back just for that. Goofy thought long and hard, until a memory came back to him, one that he knew was meant for Keyblade wielders but also knew that it was very important.

"_"May your heart be your guiding key."_" Goofy quoted almost automatically, which caught the attention of his friends who looked at him in confusion.

"Huh? What's that?" Sora asked.

"Master Yen Sid always said that to the King, right before we went off on any of our real important adventures." Goofy explained.

"Really?" Sora replied, surprised. He then turned to Donald and asked with a one-shoulder shrug. "Ring a bell?"

"Nuh uh." Donald shook his head, dumbfounded before asking to Goofy skeptically, "When did you hear him say that to King Mickey?"

Goofy frowned in confusion, realizing that he couldn't remember. He was pretty sure he heard it before, and Mickey was Yen Sid's apprentice.

"...Maybe I just imagined it." He muttered, scratching the side of his head uncertainly.

Even though Goofy may have just been imagining things, Sora couldn't help but feel inspired by those words to which he couldn't help but repeat it.

"May my heart be my guiding key." He muttered to himself, mixing it with what Yen Sid told him. Trust the guidance with his heart, and Sora had known that his friends always guided them even when they weren't around. They gave him strength and he usually followed his heart to reach them because he knew they were connected. Like an invisible map, Sora followed his heart to everyone he cared about.

Heart...that's it!

Realizing the meaning of it, Sora now understood and with a smile he quickly rushed to the helm of the gummiship.

"I've got it!" He exclaimed, summoning his Keyblade and held it in front of him, pointing it at the sky as the Kingdom Key gave out the familiar glow at it's tip, calling out with his heart. To his delight and the surprise of Donald and Goofy, a portal suddenly appeared in front of the gummiship, which would lead them to another world.

"It's a gate!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed happily with proud grins. Now they were getting somewhere.

Grinning while dismissing his Keyblade, Sora took a seat once more and began to pilot the vessel to the portal. "All right! Olympus Coliseum, here we come!" He declared, and soon he and his friends flew right into the Gateway.

Towards the world of their friend Hercules.

* * *

Things were supposedly peaceful in the land of Thebes, except for massive giant problems. A planetary allignment had been in a perfect line, and that signaled the awakening of a gateway to free the great terrors of the world. Titans. Massive beasts of four different elements and another that was the weakest but still very dangerous that were sealed away long ago...

But were now fully freed by the God of the Underworld, Hades who had replicas of the Titans, but now that he had managed to free the real ones, the time has come to conjor what he wanted, as well as giving the Titans the freedom to do what they all wanted; to destroy Zeus, the King of the Gods of Mount Olympus.

As such, the ground shook violently, as the two headed Rock Titan stomped the ground, crushing things as it went, bellowing. "**Crush Zeus!**"

The Ice Titan in the meantime was using it's ice powers to freeze up everything in it's sight, including a herd of horses who tried to run away in pure fear but were unfortunately frozen in their tracks. "**Freeze him!**" It sneered.

"**Melt Zeus!**" Roared the Lava Titan, slithering it's way with molten lava and burning everything in it's tracks.

"**Blow him AWAY!**" The Air Titan yelled, sucking up everything in it's tornado form, crashing a building into pieces that were picked up, and also swallowing a helpless goat that was also picked up while it 'baa'ed in alarm.

The Titans continued to make their way towards Zeus when Hades's voice called out to them, stopping them in their tracks as they looked at the one who freed them.

"Uh, guys?" Hades spoke up dully, jerking his thumb over his shoulder to the mountain of a clearer area as he directed them in the right direction since they were going the wrong way. "Olympus would be that way."

A bit of an awkward pause, before the Titans realized this and then changed direction and stormed towards the mountain. Though when the fifth Titan, a giant cyclops was following his fellow Titans, he stopped when Hades called up to him.

"Hold it, bright eye." The Lord of the Dead spoke, adding with a sinister grin as he a brilliant idea for this Titan. "I have a special job for you, my optic friend."

A little curious on what Hades wanted out of him, Cyclops listened in what the God of the Underworld had in mind. Yet despite this and that it sounded simple enough despite that it aqquired a fight, what they all didn't know was that help was on the way, but not as even the calvery would even expect.

* * *

Watching the events from a clearing overseeing the events from afar, were two men who witnessed the Titans march their way towards the mountain, though the Cyclops was making his way into the City of Thebes. One was Master Xehanort, and the other was Xigbar.

"Sheesh, you'd think that guy woulda done this a lot sooner." Xigbar remarked, before shaking his head. "Too bad Hades's plans are gonna be dusted when Hercules saves the day again."

"Especially with Sora and his friends arriving. Yet, neither one understand the true meaning of fighting alone. They say their friends are their powers, but for Sora, they are his weakness. Even without the Power of Waking, he will still rely on them. If they are taken away, he will fall into anger, hate and despair." Xehanort was saying, with his cruel smirk.

"So if we get rid of his friends, we can have Sora as our final vessel." Xigbar thoried.

"No." Xehanort shook his head. "There is no need for Sora now. What we do need is to destroy him, before he aqquires the alternative to bring back those I have corrupted."

The eye-patched younger man quirked an eyebrow at this in confusion. "Wanna run that by me again, old man?"

"You have never known of this, but there is a special key that is the the most difficult to find, and it aqquires finding the seven pieces of light to locate it's resting place; the Key to Return Hearts." The evil Master explained sinisterly. "Legend says that in those with hearts filled with light, it will allow them to restore lost, sleeping or corrupted hearts, as this pacticular Keyblade is not made to fight like all other Keyblades in existance."

"So...what happens if it's in the hands in guys like us?" Xigbar asked, curiously.

Xehanort gazed at him as his grin grew. "It will corrupt hearts that had not fallen into darkness. But...with or without that Keyblade, there is no need for us to claim it. At best, it is necessary to have it destroyed, find the pure lights of the Princesses of Heart who will need to give up their powers for our goal. The seven lights and the thirteen darknesses are needed to recreate the X-Blade. Whether we have the Princesses or the Guardians of Light, it does not matter, as long as they do not have the Key to Return Hearts."

"So all we gotta do is find that Keyblade of Hearts or whatever it's called and get rid of it so that Sora's group don't have a choice since we already won, right?" The Sniper of the Organization guessed.

"That, and make Sora and his friends lose hope. Have them learn that friendship is weak and power alone is strong. That is your assignment. In the meantime, I will inform our other members as we are close in completing the Darknesses as well as true members to place those should they betray us. Know this, the battle is not yet won." Xehanort ordered him.

"Heh...Whatever you say, ya' old coot." Xigbar snickered while teleporting away, leaving Xehanort alone to gaze at the Titans who were now climbing up the mountain.

The old man chuckled darkly as things were already beginning to go smoothly. Still, he didn't want to be caught off-guard as Sora was just as meddlesome as King Mickey. Xehanort may have already had his Heartless half to corrupt Aqua and leave her trapped in the Realm of Darkness and would soon destroy Mickey and Riku's resolves in saving her, but there was still a chance that Sora could end up finding that Key.

After all, one can't be too careful.

* * *

_A little while later..._

Olympus Coliseum had always gave Sora, Donald and Goofy fond memories. Most of the time they were usually at the Coliseum itself, either training with Phil who most likely still couldn't count his words right, helping Hercules to fight off the Heartless and rescue Meg from the Underworld, and even made friends with Cloud on their first trip here and reunited with him a year later in Hollow Bastion, and in that same year with Auron. Okay so the Heartless and Hades were the downsides, but they weren't worried.

Now they would have a lead in figuring out how Sora can get his powers back as well as meeting up with their old friends again...

Or at least they would if they landed in the right area of the world. Because rather than disembarking at the familiar gates of the Coliseum, Sora, Donald and Goofy instead found themselves in a lush outcropping halfway up a mountain that was so tall it somehow perched up into the sky above. Even though they were certain they were in the right world, the trio suddenly had a sense of deja vu flash onto them.

"No fanfare?" Sora queried, and when Donald looked at him in confusion, the teenager mimicked the trumpeting cheers to prove his point and Goofy listened out to hear said fanfare.

Nothing.

"Nope. Looks like we missed the Coliseum." Goofy replied as he looked around their new surroundings.

"Sora!" Donald scolded. "You opened the gate and said you knew where you were going!"

"I was...a little off again. Sorry!" Sora grinned sheepishly, before saying confidently. "But don't worry, we'll find him! Let's go."

With that, he took the lead, but stopped when Donald asked incredulously, "Up a mountain?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah. Up is the usual direction."

"Well, it never hurts to have your head up in the clouds." Goofy said optimistically, which made Sora grin, as the two then walked on towards the direction. Donald wanted to protest about this, before sighing in defeat and then quickly hurried to join his friends, hoping that they were going at least the right way. Though despite that they were lost, at least this area they landed in was a lot nicer than the Underworld.

He can take this place for Hades' domain any day.

* * *

Despite Sora's claims earlier, even when they ended up fighting Heartless along the way, it didn't take the trio long before they reached another elevated range that went higher up into the mountain rather than anywhere near the Coliseum like they expected. While the view was amazing, and they did come across a large giant statue of a man with a beard and wearing a toga, seated at a throne like a king which made the trio feel like ants just staring up at it, neither the view below or the giant statue were on their minds.

"Um...fellas? I think we might be goin' around in circles." Goofy muttered with a frown.

"Sora...!" Donald growled angrily, getting all steamed up.

"Did we take a wrong turn? I thought this was the right way." Sora muttered, just as baffled as his friends were. He thought for certain that up was the right direction. Though given where they were, there were no where near to their destination, so he decided that there was only one last thing to do.

He went up to the edge and then called out loudly to the valley below, his voice echoing through out the entire area. "Hey! Herclues? Where are yoooouuuuu?"

Even though Hercules didn't hear Sora's voice, even when it echoed, someone else certainly did. Too bad it wasn't who the trio had in mind, and that said someone was coming down in a dark cloud of smoke to give whoever was screaming a piece of their mind.

"All right. I know I dotted the I's, crossed my T's, and zeroed the hero and broody pink-haired lady that's just as broody as that _Spiky haired heavy-large sword head_ and just as disobediant as _scar face from the dead_, so what gives? Who could possibly be trying to give me a _migrain by screaming out that yutz's name!?_" Hades grunted angrily as he materialized.

Much to the disappointment of Sora, Donald and Goofy as they had to end up meeting with this guy and most likely have to fight all over again. Knowing Hades, he was up to no good, as usual.

"Really, Hades?" Sora sighed, exasperated.

"Oh, it's just you three." Hades rolled his eyes, just as exasperated. "Oy vey."

"_Just us_?" Sora repeated, placing his hands on his hips as he scowled. "Even for you that's cold."

"Yeah, well don't forget! I can always turn up the heat!" Hades replied snappishly.

"Wait a sec." Goofy thought as he looked around, before asking in confusion. "If Hades is here, then where's Hercules?"

"_What is everyone's infatuation with __**THAT DOLT!?**_" Hades growled angrily as he turned red which included his hair-flames at the mention of Hercules. Despite this, he quickly calmed down since he already had plans in store, mentally breathing in and out. "You know what? Never mind, forget it. I'm cool, I'm good. Because soon, _Wonderbreath_ will be outta of my hair soon..."

"So you're _really_ are up to no good again! You never change!" Sora assumed, already summoning his Keyblade.

"He's always up to no good!" Goofy agreed as he summoned his Shield while Donald summoned his Staff.

"He doesn't know when to quit!" Donald added as he and his two friends glared at the Lord of the Dead.

"Whoa, easy there, Key-Trio." Hades told the glaring three. "What is this, sparta? Love to stay and chat an' all, but I've gotta blaze since I'm kinda on schedule here. Don't have time to toss around ol' fire and brimstone. Got a whole Cosmos waitin' for me to conquer it with _my name _on it!"

Sora rolled his eyes as he said with a little bit of sympathy, but also sarcasm. "Poor Hades. He really thinks he can actually pull it this time."

Hades grinned as he turned to Sora's group again. "Well, this time I've got somethin' that not even YOU brats can stop."

"Wha're you talkin' about?" Donald asked, suspiciously.

The God of the Underworld ignored him, and instead turned to face the towering mountain, calling out commandingly. "Where are my Titans!? Show me your power!"

Not having time to wonder what Hades was talking about, Sora, Donald and Goofy jumped in alarm when the ground shook violently underneath them. This was followed by the sky turning dark and stormy, and the arrivals of the four Titans of Lava, Ice, Rock and Wind, huge giants in all four forms. Their presence seemed to put nature out of balance, such as the Earthquake shaking the ground violently, Lava spewing and sliding down like a waterfall, followed by a freezing chill of ice and the only one not fazed or blown away was Hades who was enjoying it.

Sora, Donald and Goofy struggled against the icy cold wind, before finally the massive winds from the Wind Titan became too much for them and despite their best efforts, the trio lost their battle and in one swoop they were sent flying into the sky and over the valleys, far from the mountain and towards somewhere that will end up in a very painful landing while they screamed which faded as they vanished.

No sooner had Sora's group vanish, the elemental disasters ended under Hades' command as he was pleased that the trio wouldn't be messing up with his plans this time.

"Ah, that sent 'em sailing..." Hades began with a smug grin...only for it to fade as he gazed at the direction where Sora's group ended up and quickly realized where they were going. "...Sailing right to where I left..."

He then shrugged it off, unconcerned. "Ah, no sweat." Hades turned once more to the Titans and praised them. "Nice work, boys! So, back to the whole Cosmos coup thing?"

Heeding the Lord's words once more, the Titans turned and returned to their original agenda to destroy Zeus and take over the home of the Gods while Hades gladly sent them off. But no sooner his minions were out of sight when a pillar of light and darkness emerged from the sky and materialized another figure of darkness.

"Ugh, seriously?" He groaned, aggravated once more. "Are you kidding me? Jeez louise, when it rains it pours. Alright, who's the new pest this time?"

"Hmph. Not one for greeting anyone with manners, are you?" A smooth, dark voice responded, one that belonged to the familiar one-winged angel of darkness; Sephiroth.

"Oh, perfect." Hades rolled his eyes. "Now I gotta cope with another dark guy. Lemme guess; you got your own coup thing and want me to join your side of whatever is that you got in mind. And I'll have you know that I plently of manners when I'm up for it. You're the one who's the rude one for interrupting my plans, pretty boy."

"Oh, I do have plans of my own. One that concerns that boy with the Keyblade your Titans had sent off. I have been aqquinted with him; you see, he is an ally of Cloud." Sephiroth replied with a smirk.

The Lord of the Dead groaned once more. "Ugh, now I gotta cope with you doing what Maleficent tried with Key-Boy and that King whom I haven't met yet and I don't plan to? Sorry to burst your bubble, but you can keep your offer. I'm going back to my original plan. So...toodle-loo! Exit's thataway! Happy traaaails!"

"I can assure you this will not take long. What I am looking for is a certain a certain legendary Key I have recently learned about; the Key to Return Hearts." Sephiroth said calmly.

"Key to Return Hearts?" Hades repeated in boredom. "Hmmm...Key of Hearts, Key of Hearts, Key of Hearts...Nope, doesn't ring a bell. The only key I'm aware of is that kid's Keyblade. What's it for, anyway? Stealing my job to bring back the dead when I feel like it?"

"That's for me to know." The silver haired man replied. "Trust me, you will like it when the time comes. Just so you know, soon the last bit of light in Cloud's Heart will be gone and he will be one with darkness. It is always hard to destroy it, but with that key and corrupting that boy into the bidding of darkness when the time is right, our goals will soon align."

With that, Sephiroth vanished instantly, leaving behind a couple of black feathers from his wing and leaving Hades behind.

"Geez, not even a 'Thank you' for asking about some stupid Key to do whatever it is? That guy is worse than Maleficent." Hades complained, then shrugged it off and began to walk away. "But hey, if it really gets that kid out of the way and even Spike, then I'm not complaining."

If only Hades knew that his plans were soon to be derailed...again.

* * *

**A/N: I did say Final Fantasy characters would be in this story and making such an important role. The next chapter will have Sora's group reunite with not one but five friends as well as another who is hinted by Hades in this chapter. And with the Black Box not existing in this chapter, the Key to Return Hearts is much more important.**

**Don't worry, Maleficent and Pete will still be in this story...just looking for something that would've made more sense in the game that was hinted in the added scene in "Re: Coded" in 2.5 HD ReMix.**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 2: (Title too long, sorry)

**A/N: I'm glad that you guys are liking this story so far better than the game. I was disappointed when they left out the Key to Return Hearts in Kingdom Hearts 3 as I expected it to be an actual Keyblade rather than power, and even more so when they still didn't reveal what's inside the black box.**

**Which is why it came to this and will continue to do so for this story. So let's continue on in the crisis in Olymplus!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 2: One Big Trouble, One Little Town.

Thebes was supposed to be a safe city right now, it's vast metropolis sitting at the safety of the shadow of Mount Olympus. But now it was in great danger of a devastating attack that has buildings on fire no thanks to the combination of fire raining down from the sky, monsters attacking innocent citizens who were running away in panic trying to find shelter, and near by a giant Cyclops attacking everything and smashing buildings in place. Despite all of this, they still had one hope they can always rely on saving them, and that was none other than the great hero Hercules.

Hercules in question had just finished up saving another group of civilians and was standing on top of a nearby building for a very quick breather, knowing that there was never a break for a hero. He was just about to move onto the next part of rescuing as many as possible when another familiar figure leaped up from below and landed in a short crouch before standing up. He was a young man with spiky blond hair, blue sharp eyes and was wearing black with a single sleeve and shoulder pad with a few wolf designs including a badge and an earring.

Cloud Strife, who, after losing sight of his enemy Sephiroth again, ended up back here and was now aiding Hercules with evacuating and saving the people.

"Cloud." Hercules greeted.

"Herc." Cloud nodded, before quering. "How are things here?"

"Just finished up here. You?" The True Hero replied.

"Same." Cloud responded, just as his and Hercules' attentions were caught by the sound of three very familiar voices screaming which got louder and louder. When the duo looked up to see and saw a very familiar trio coming towards them from out of nowhere, Hercules wasted no time in leaping into action with Cloud just one second behind.

In one quick movement, Hercules caught Sora and Goofy before landing safely on the ground with the duo in tow.

"See? Told ya we'd find him!" Sora proclaimed proudly with a smile.

"Yeah, guess this counts. Ay-hyuck!" Goofy agreed heartily, while Hercules gave him and Sora a brief nod of greeting. But before they could have a proper hello, the sound of Donald screaming his head off in anger since he was the only one not caught by the hero.

"Hey! Get me down! Get me down!" Donald squawked as he struggled to free himself from the tooth of the lion statue he was stuck on, only to be picked up by Cloud above him and slung over his shoulder. The spiky-haired swordsman then jumped and landed safely on the ground, which his appearance surprised Sora and Goofy who were both put down gently by Hercules.

"Cloud!" Sora greeted in surprise. He didn't expect to see him here as well, given how the last time they saw Cloud was when he was fighting Sephiroth in Hollow Bastion before the two disappeared, and Tifa had also left to continue her search for him.

Cloud just nodded at the teenager, before saying to the frustrated Donald. "Sorry about the wait."

Donald just grumbled and did his best to cross his arms before being put down as he, Sora, Goofy, Cloud and Hercules regrouped in the proper reunion almost immediately.

"Sora! Donald! Goofy!" Hercules exclaimed with a surprised yet excited grin. "You guys are here!"

"Though not the way anyone would expect. You three just literally dropped in." Cloud added with a bit of a smirk himself, and he wasn't normally a man for big reunion, but even he had to admit he was happy to see them.

"Yeah, I gotta say. I'm impressed!" Hercules continued.

"Thanks!" Donald replied.

"Liked the catch!" Goofy added just as happily.

"Yeah, thanks guys." Sora nodded, before asking as he saw the full extend of the destruction; rubbles here, fires there, and the combination of the two mixed in at the same time. "But...what's going on?"

"I'll give you a guess; starts with an H." The true Hero sighed in exasperation.

"Right." Sora nodded, quickly understanding what Hercules was talking about as he immediately knew who his friend was talking about. "I get the idea. In fact, we bumped into H-ster on the way here."

"He said somethin' about conquerin' the whole Cosmos." Goofy added.

"Guess he hasn't really changed if he's going to try something like that." Cloud sighed, clearly not surprised at all either.

Hercules nodded in agreement, not really fazed. "Nice of him to show a little self-restraint. Well, whatever he's got planning, I'll send him running back to the Styx!"

"That's our Herc!" Sora grinned happily while mimicking his friend's heroic poses, which had Hercules chuckle and Cloud scoff in amusement before they beckoned the trio to join them in investigate the town for anymore lives that needed to be saved.

"Hey, Cloud. How'd you end up back here, anyway?" Sora asked the swordsman.

"I thought you were fightin' Sephiroth." Goofy asked, baffled and concerned.

"I was, but we ended up separated." Cloud sighed, with a hint of frustration in his voice. "Couldn't find him since then, and when I came back here during my search, well, the city ended up being in a mess. So I volunteered to help rescue as many as possible."

Donald gave him a slightly scolding look, as he deadpanned. "Thanks for leaving without a goodbye, Cloud."

"...Sorry." Cloud muttered, before he, the trio and Hercules paused and then asked. "What about you guys? What brings you here?"

"Oh, right!" Sora quickly remembered.

"Looks like somebody forgot." Goofy lightly teased.

"That's Sora for ya." Donald added, snickering.

Sora pouted at his two friends, "Did not! I just took time in remembering. Not my fault Hades blew us off a mountain with those Titans of his!"

He then quickly turned to Hercules and told him. "Herc, I came here because I wanted to ask you something."

"Ask me?" Hercules asked, genuinely surprised while Cloud suddenly curious himself.

"Yeah. Do you remember the last time we were together? You were feeling down and out. How'd you get your strength back when you jumped in to save Meg?" Sora nodded.

'_Hercules lost his strength?_' Cloud thought, genuinely shocked as he gazed at the youngerish man in a wide-eyed expression. Sure he hadn't been here in more than a year and the last time he left was when after he apologized to Hercules and Phil for siding with Hades which was one of Cloud's biggest mistakes. He must've missed out on a lot.

"Hmmm...that's a tough one." Hercules mused, uncertain how to really answer that. "All I know is, she was in trouble and I suddenly wanted to save her with all my heart. But...it's not like I could really tell you how I did it exactly."

"Oh, man." Sora sighed in complete disappointment. Just when he had an idea on having advice from Hercules, now it seemed like even his friend couldn't provide help either and if he couldn't do it, then Sora was back to square one; unable to figure out how to get his powers back.

"Did something happen?" Cloud asked, as he and Hercules noticed Sora's expression.

"Yeah..." Sora nodded, dejected. "I lost most of my power, too. That's why I came here to ask Herc-I was hoping for an advice or something on how to get them back. It happened a little while ago."

"Oh...I'm sorry, Sora." Hercules said, frowning with sympathy. "But...for what it's worth, I'm sure you'll get them back. I mean, you did pull off crazier stunts before."

Even though it was a small sentiment, Sora perked up at his friend's vote of confidence and nodded. Unfortunately, before he could even thank Hercules, more balls of fire rained down and when he and his four friends quickly turned to look, the fireballs formed into Heartless which began to cause more damage, including toppling over a giant statue of Hercules which crashed onto the ground while the rampaging monsters were all over the place.

"Heartless!" Donald and Goofy both exclaimed as they and Sora quickly summoned their weapons, Cloud unsheathing his fusion sword and Hercules stood ready, all five of them glaring at the Heartless.

"Let's talk more later." Cloud adviced.

"Right, once we've dealt with these guys." Sora agreed, tightening his grip on his Keyblade.

The group then quickly rushed forward and began attacking the Heartless who, seeing the five of them, attacked themselves. Hercules had no trouble as he punched one which was sent flying across and crashing into other two Heartless before he tossed another with the same effect. Cloud slashed with a powerful swing that took out each Heartless as he went, then sped forward in a killer-strike move on other Heartless as well. Goofy smacked and bashed Heartless with his Shield before he performed his Goofy-Nado skill by spinning around in a full effective attack. Donald attacked with his magic before he moved out of the way when the Heartless nearly set him on fire.

Sora tossed his Keyblade at one which did some damage and he mentally thanked his lucky stars for the training he did in the Realm of Sleep, as he noticed that he wasn't up for speed, much to his dismay. But he wasn't going to let that get to him. He then slashed and sliced more Heartless before freezing one in ice where it became frozen, allowing him to finish it off. He then noticed pillars and while he and his friends were hit one by one before quickly recovering from the burns of the Heartless' fire attacks, Sora then decided to try and see if he still had some of his abilities.

He focused carefully as well as quickly before leaping towards one of the pillars and spun around and around while using his Motion Flow ability, which allowed him to give out a surprise attack on the Heartless. Once Sora finished, and blocked another Heartless before finishing it and the one he attacked earlier off, he gave out a mental sigh of relief. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

Just as the numbers were starting to dim and Sora, Donald, Goofy, Hercules and Cloud cut them down to size, several more appeared behind them and the group, hearing the movement, turned and quickly stood in defenses to continue the fight. They didn't need to, though, because suddenly from out of nowhere, an unfamiliar woman leaped down from the building near them and struck the Heartless one by one with what Sora recognized as a gunblade, similar to Leon's but a bit smaller in side. She took care of the five that had appeared while the group watched in shock and awe.

She had rose-blond hair in a small ponytail that was over her shoulder, sharp blue eyes and some of female styles military clothes with long boots and blue fingerless gloves.

"Whoa!" Sora gapped, while the others were speechless before Cloud and Hercules shared a somewhat awkward glance, and Donald and Goofy's eyes were almost as wide as dinner plates.

Noticing the group, the woman turned to glance at them. "You all okay?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah. That was very impressive." Hercules replied, and Sora, Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement while Cloud remained silence, not so certain what to make of this newcomer. "Who are you, anyway?"

"...Call me Lightning." Lightning replied, almost emotionlessly. "You're Hercules, right?"

"That's right." The true hero nodded.

Sastified with the answer, Lightning then turned to face the others and asking, with a hint of distrust. "And you all are...?"

"I'm Sora." Sora began with a friendly smile.

"Donald." Donald added proudly.

"Goofy." Goofy added friendily.

"My name is Cloud." Cloud said, more calmly.

Lightning stared at them, before noticing what was in Sora's hand and frowned deeply. "You were out there fighting those things?"

"Yep. Part of the job." Sora replied with a confident grin even though he didn't feel the usual confidence, but he wasn't going to let it get to him, not when there were Heartless needing to be taken care of. He may not have the answer in how to get his powers back, but he wasn't leaving until the situation here was sorted out and with Hades and the Titans on the loose, Sora didn't want to have them get what they wanted.

"You shouldn't be here." Lightning told him coldly, which made Sora lose his grin as he stared at her in growing shock. "It's far too dangerous."

"W-wait a minute! I fight those monsters all the time! And I help out my friends and other people who need it!" Sora protested.

"Yeah, Sora's a hero just like Hercules." Goofy added.

"And so are we!" Donald stated, glaring at the woman as he grew an near-instant distrust already. Okay, so Sora wasn't up to speed, but even Donald wasn't that over-protective.

"This isn't a game. It's very serious and this is not the right place or time to be playing around in a situation that will get you killed. Towns facing destruction is not a playground, Sora. You should go home right now." The pink-haired woman firmly told the trio, before she turned her gaze at Cloud who was frowning deeply at the woman's attitude. "As for you, Cloud..."

"What about me?" Cloud countered, suspiciously.

"...You're not a l'Cie, and neither are the kid and his two friends." Lightning responded, "But you shouldn't be here either."

"Huh?" Cloud asked, while Sora and the others shared confused glances. What was a l'Cie?

"A...what-see?" Sora asked, clueless.

"None of your business." Lightning told the teenager, before she began to walk off with final parting words. "It's not something either of you want; it's a death sentence. But even that won't stop me until I find who I'm looking for."

Despite the group calling out to Lightning to wait, she didn't listen and instead continued onward into further part of Thebes, leaving Sora, Donald, Goofy, Hercules and Cloud behind with uncertainty.

"What's her problem?" Sora remarked, folding his arms in annoyance. Just because he wasn't like he was before the Mark of Mastery that didn't mean Lightning had the right to tell him what to do and think that he's fooling around when he was taking this very seriously. Did Lightning doubt him to the point that he's not fit to fight? That, he hated to admit, was very discouraging.

"Maybe she doesn't want anybody to get hurt." Goofy said, thoughtfully. "Lightning said that she's lookin' for someone."

"Or she could be another victim of Hades." Cloud pointed out firmly. "She might think of us as enemies and was tricked into doing his bidding. You guys already know what happened when I was tricked by him."

"That doesn't mean she has a right to think that I'm not taking this seriously." Sora pointed out, sighing. "I know that I have a lot to work on, but that never stopped me from fighting the Heartless."

Donald and Goofy could only gaze at Sora worriedly before sharing a glance, uncertain how to cheer him up if he was feeling down and discouraged by someone who didn't believe they and Cloud were capable in handling the situation. Plus Lightning was a bit like Cloud when they first met him two years ago, only maybe a bit worse.

"Don't let get to you guys." Hercules prodded reassuringly. "I'm sure she'll come around. Plus, Goofy and Cloud have good points and if Hades has tricked her, we just need her to see the truth."

"Yeah...You're right." Sora nodded after a moment of thinking.

The conversation was then put on hold when the group heard a familiar voice call out Hercules's name before they looked up and saw Meg who had been calling, and Phil who were riding on Pegasus who was descending towards them. The group hurried over as Pegasus landed gently on the ground.

"Meg! Thank goodness you're alright." Hercules greeted in relief.

Meg nodded, before glancing around and cringed. "Whatever happened here doesn't look fun."

"No, not with the Heartless around." Hercules nodded in agreement, before adding. "Luckily, apart from Cloud, we have more friends that had shown up on time."

Noticing the trio for the first time, Meg smiled. "Whaddya know? Sora, Donald and Goofy. I guess we owe you a big thank you."

"Hey, it's not problem." Sora grinned cheerfully.

"Because we're heroes!" Donald added proudly.

"Now I really need to catch up with you guys." Cloud smirked. "I certainly missed out on alot."

"Ya got lots more catchin' up than just the stories, Spike." Phil pointed out to the young swordsman. "If ya wanna be a lot more tougher than them and I gotta admit you're doin' a good job, but what you need to do is two simple words: No, more, running, off!"

Once again the satyr counted wrong, especially when Goofy counted on how many words Phil actually said, and the captain, Donald and Sora chuckled in slight embarrassment and amusement while Cloud shook his head. Some things never changed, but they did wish that Phil would get his numbers right.

"But never mind that now! We've got an even bigger problem!" Phil quickly changed the subject as he turned to Hercules. "There's a great big giant ugly Cyclops on the other side of town trashing buildings like you won't believe!"

"What!?" The group exclaimed in shock. A giant Cyclops on top of everything else?

"Do ya' think it's another Titan?" Goofy asked, worriedly. Donald gulped in fear at the very idea of a giant Cyclops attacking the city as well.

"Most likely. Knowing Hades, he has a lot up his sleeve today." Sora agreed with a firm expression.

Hercules, quickly turning serious, nodded. "I'll handle it." He then turned to Meg and added, "Meg, you need to stay somewhere safe. We'll search the city, make sure everyone manages to stay clear from the fire and handle the Cyclops. I got a feeling Hades summoned him here."

Despite nodding in agreement, Meg couldn't help but tell him with worry. "Be careful, Wonderboy."

"I will." Hercules assured, before turning to his four other friends. "You guys in?"

"Yeah." Cloud nodded.

"'Course we're in!" Sora agreed readily as he and his companions nodded.

"Like we said; we're heroes!" Donald repeated his previous statement.

"Break a leg then, heroes." Meg replied, giving them a playful salute.

"Phil, you go watch Meg." Hercules instructed his mentor and best friend.

Phil saluted, "Ya' got it, Champ!"

Hercules briefly joined the two and instructed Pegasus to keep both of them safe. The horse with wings nodded before taking flight and carrying Meg and Phil to safety. Once he was certain they were in a safe distance, Hercules turned to his friends and was about to tell them that they had to be careful and that they had to find the Cyclops when Goofy suddenly heard a fearful plea scream out the area that was empty.

"Heeeeeelp! Is anyone theeeere?" The voice, sounding like a very young girl, cried out as Goofy listened out from where it was coming from.

"Hey! I hear a voice!" Goofy alerted as a pointed at the source of the cry. Sora, Donald, Hercules and Cloud quickly looked to where the cries for help was coming from only to discover to their ultimate shock, was a little eight year old girl, having somehow ended up on a tall pile of rubble and was clearly terrified. She was pressed against the stone wall behind her with the flames underneath her.

"Oh no! There's a little girl caught in the fire!" Hercules warned urgently, despite that they had a giant Cyclops to also worry about.

Fortunately, Cloud came up with the only solution. "I'll help you find that Cyclops." He told Hercules, then instructed the trio, "You guys go help that kid and other people and we'll meet up soon."

"Got it!" Sora exclaimed in agreement, already hurrying ahead to rescue the poor girl, only to stop when Hercules called him back.

"Wait! Running's too slow." The true hero pointed out.

"Then what do we do?" Sora asked incredulously as he skid to a stop. If they didn't reach the girl now, it'll be too late.

Hercules looked around for a faster solution until he spotted the fallen statue of himself before grinning as an idea came into mind. He instructed Sora, Donald and Goofy to get onto it. The trio and Cloud shared a confused glance before Sora's group did as they were told, trusting what Hercules had in mind. Sora, Donald and Goofy scaled on top of the statue's back while waiting to see what the true hero would do next.

"Do you think this is safe?" Donald asked, suddenly nervous.

"Hope so." Goofy replied, just as nervous and gulped worriedly.

"Hold on tight!" Hercules informed them.

Sora, Donald and Goofy nodded, holding on as tightly as they could as they were still not sure what Hercules had in mind. Cloud however, seeing this suddenly realized what was about to happen and even looked a bit uneasy himself while gazing at Hercules who was approaching the statue.

"...I think you guys might want to brace yourselves." The swordsman suggested.

Before Sora could ask what Cloud meant on that, he, Donald and Goofy suddenly felt the statue move, much to their alarm as they tried to really hold on. It was then instantly that they realized that Hercules had heaved up the statue that was several times larger than he was and also realized what he had in mind.

"W-whoa! Uh, Herc?" Sora cried out, worriedly. "I don't think this is such a good ideeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaa!" He couldn't finish as Hercules had heaved before throwing the entire statue into the sky towards the building while Sora and his two companions screamed while being launched unexpectedly yet again.

"_Yaaaaaa-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooeeeeee!_" Goofy screamed his usual hollar.

Cloud watched the three travelers fly off before gazing at Hercules and couldn't help but comment, "You really should've given them a heads up. Like, not a literal one."

Hercules was about to reply when he and Cloud heard a much deeper and gigantic voice roar out from the short distance that sounded much to close, as well as a bit of a tremor of the ground that made them turn to the source. Their eyes widened in shock as they caught sight of the very giant Cyclops they were going to find smashing more buildings.

"**Hercules! Where are you!? COME OUT! Face me!**" Cyclops demanded, smashing the buildings as he went.

"Guess that makes our search easier." Hercules remarked, not fazed. He turned to Cloud and asked, "You up for it?"

Cloud scoffed with a smirk, spinning his sword expertly before lowering it to his side. "You really have to ask?"

It wasn't long before the two of them hurried over to where the Cyclops was. They easily dodged and jumped over the burning debries before they reached the very area of where the Titan was. Hercules let out a loud whistle to get the monster's attention, while four people, a big guy in black hair, a woman in ginger hair, a skinny woman, and a slightly charred guy with a charred black cat who were hiding in a fountain noticed their hero.

"Hey look! It's Hercules!" The big man exclaimed in relief in which the Cyclops turned and saw the said hero as well.

"Thank the gods! We're saved!" The red-haired woman cheered in relief.

Cyclops, grinning evilly as he stomped towards Hercules and Cloud who both stood ready, glaring back at him. "**So...you mighty Hercules.**"

"That would be me." Hercules replied.

"And he isn't alone in this." Cloud added, while thinking that Phil was right; this massive guy was ugly. _VERY ugly_. Not to mention on a serious need of a diet...and a dentist.

The giant Titan just laughed, before he and the two young men prepared for battle, unaware that pretty soon Hercules and Cloud would have more help.

* * *

Despite the unexpected flight that would've resulted in a hard, crash landing, Sora, Donald and Goofy somehow managed to land safely before they hurried to save the girl, retrieving her before bringing her down to a much safer level. She thanked them for saving her before running off to a proper shelter.

Once they were certain that the girl would be okay, Sora nodded to his friends. "Okay. Let's keep looking for more people to help and then meet up with Herc and Cloud. Still gotta stop that giant Cyclops."

Donald and Goofy both nodded in agreement despite their unease of the fact that they and Sora would be fighting said giant Cyclops. Sure the three of them fought giant Heartless in the past, and defeated the fake Ansem in his monster-ship form as well as whatever Xemnas had thrown at them...but neither of them had fought a giant Cyclops before and that, in their opinion, was terrifying in and on itself.

"Well, well...If it isn't Sora and the King's pawns." A hauntingly familiar voice alarmed the trio who gasped before they turned around to see both Maleficent and Pete emerge from the corridor of darkness. Sora and his friends quickly took up defense stances while summoning their weapons.

"Maleficent! Pete!" Sora grunted, glaring at the evil duo. "Let me guess; You two sent out the Heartless here, didn't you!?"

"Certainly not." Maleficent replied calmly.

Pete, who had been studying the group, smirked evilly as he noticed something was different and for him and Maleficent, that was a good thing. "Say, Maleficent...I dunno about the other pipsqueaks, but the kid Keyblader looks even punier than the last time we saw him. I say we take him out now while we have a chance."

Hearing this made Sora's confident falter a little, but he tried to hold it back from showing. Had he really been that noticable? If so, then all that training he did to boost himself up wasn't even enough? How can he fight like this when even Pete, one of the stupidest bad guys so far, if not the stupidest, had noticed that Sora's strength had left him due to what Xehanort had done?

"Ordinarily I would have obliged to accept such an idea, but the boy is inconsequential to us now, especially his companions." Maleficent informed him, deciding that she had no such attempts to deal with Sora and his friends today, much to Pete's shock and confusion for missing such an oppotunity. "We have a much more pressing matter to attend to."

At first Pete was confused on what his boss was talking about. But after a long moment of thinking, he then remembered and snapped his fingers at his recollection before blurting out. "Oh, right! We gots to find that Book of Prophecies from that King Mickey!"

"Quiet, you fool!" Maleficent snapped angrily, too late to stop Pete from saying what their plan was which only confused Sora, Donald and Goofy. Book of Prophecies? What was Pete talking about? They didn't get an answer as she glared at them. "Know this; we will meet again when the time is right. If you wish to see your King, you best hurry to get the truth out of him, even if he may be lying to himself as well."

"Ya' can't talk to King Mickey like that!" Goofy cried out angrily as he, Donald and Sora glared harder. Even though Mickey did hide a few things like with Riku and Aqua, the King had reasons and each time he did, Mickey always felt guilty about it and apologized since he didn't want to hurt anyone he cared about so much with all his heart.

"Yeah! And the book of whatever it is is the dumbest thing I've ever heard!" Donald added in agreement.

"If you're into reading or organizing books, why not just give up your evil ways and go work in a library or something?" Sora added in half-sarcasm.

Maleficent said nothing, and instead calmly turned and walked into the portal from whence she came, leaving Pete behind briefly as he decided to give a final taunting to Sora. "If ya can still talk big, ya'd better get your act together, kid. Later, twerps!" He walked into the corridor with a wave without looking at the trio before vanishing.

"Wait!" Sora called out, but was too late as the corridor of darkness vanished after the two villains vanished to enter another world somewhere out there. With them gone, Sora let out a sigh while Donald and Goofy looked at him in concern.

"Sora?" Donald queried, worried about his friend. Despite this, Sora was quick to give the pair a half-hearted smile since he didn't want either of them to worry.

"It's fine. I can take it." He told them.

"But aren't ya bothered with those mean words?" Goofy asked, knowingly.

"No, of couse not!" Sora protested, turning away. "I said it's fine!"

"Don't worry. You're strong and you always were, even without all that power!" Donald said encouragingly. "You'll be even stronger again."

"And we'll be right there with ya'!" Goofy added.

Sora sighed, knowing that they were trying to cheer him up, and really, they had always had confidence in him despite being worried at the same time. He just wished that he hadn't been so noticeable. On top of that, Lightning thought he wasn't taking this seriously and thus was not fit to fight and should be sent home, and now Pete had seen how drained Sora felt which added to the top of everything else. He didn't want to let anyone down and he didn't want anyone to worry about him either. But they still did none the less.

In the end, though, he knew that he would have to go out and figure out how to get his strength back one way or another, even if Hercules didn't have the right answer. Sora won't give up.

"Yeah...I know." Sora nodded, turning back to them. "Thanks, guys."

Donald and Goofy both nodded encouragingly before they and Sora hurried to continue searching for rescuing as many people as possible. As they raced across the streets and on top of roofs that were the only ways to reach any people that were caught in the destruction and attacked by the Heartless, they heard a powerful roar from one of the highest places they ended up at and skid to a stop when they saw in the distance of the Cyclops who was fighting Hercules and Cloud.

The trio gapped in shock and horror at the sight of the Titan, and while Sora feared more about the safety of Hercules and Cloud despite the latter two doing a great job at fighting the giant one-eyed monster so far, Donald and Goofy both clinged onto each other in pure fear at how huge the Cyclops really was.

"It's gigantic!" Donald exclaimed in fear.

"Sure hope he ain't gonna eat us...!" Goofy quivered.

Sora grunted, clutching his fist tightly as he whispered to the two men even though he knew they wouldn't hear him. "Herc, Cloud...We'll be there soon!"

Despite the fear of the Cyclops and the worry about Hercules and Cloud, Sora, Donald and Goofy hurried to continue the rescue and evacuation to help the people and defeat the Heartless.

Yet what they were unaware of is that they would end up encountering more than what they wanted to face and that it was just the beginning of the long, dangerous journey that lied ahead.

* * *

Meanwhile, on Destiny Islands, both Riku and Mickey, after donning on new clothes that would protect them from the darkness that would be in the realm of darkness they were trying to enter, were gazing around the small island that Riku always hanged out whenever he could with Sora and Kairi, and used to play on with both of them when all three of them were children.

"Why would the entrance to the dark realm be here?" Riku asked, gazing around at the area of the world that was his home, since the day of his birth.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure." Mickey admitted, just as confused as his friend. "But somehow, I feel like were in the right place. It was here that Aqua and I were in the dark side of this world, where we first found the Keyblade of Darkness."

Riku thought about what the King said and then thought hard before coming up with a suggestion. "Maybe it's because the Keyblade knows where we want to go."

"Hmmm..." Mickey frowned deeply, before summoning the Kingdom Key-D and gazed at the golden weapon that was the counter part of Sora's Kingdom Key of Light. "Ya' know...I think you're right. This Keyblade and the Keyblade of Light are the two sides of the same thing, much like the realms. Light and Dark. Both of 'em are not like any other Keyblades. They are the keys of keeping the balance of everything like the Princesses of Hearts."

"How is it you knew about their existance? Did Master Yen Sid tell you?"

"Well...he told me about 'em later on, but it was in a special dream I had the night before I discovered the stars goin' out. I knew then it was a connection. The two Keyblades to close up the door to darkness, one of the smaller versions of Kingdom Hearts but still too dangerous to be left open." Mickey explained.

"Like how Sora had that unusual dream days before things went bad." Riku theoried.

The King nodded in agreement. "Right. I'm not sure what caused Sora to have it even though the Keyblade chose you, and well, everything else that happened, but what I do know is that Sora had entered his first Station of Waking."

"The station within his heart?" Riku asked, recalling being on the platform that had a large picture of Sora's younger-self when he entered Sora's dream to save him from the nightmare that Xehanort placed him in.

"Yep. It exists in all hearts; not just all of us, but in worlds too. Whether it's Keyblade awakening inside our hearts or not, they can't ever be broken, or else the heart will fade away into darkness. Anyway, this Keyblade was in my dream, and while I gotta admit, I was kinda scared since it was a Keyblade of Darkness and I hate to admit it, but I thought it was darkness wantin' to take over me." Mickey explained.

Riku nodded, understanding where his friend was coming from. Even the King had been afraid and darkness wasn't something to be friends with if one wasn't careful.

"But when Master Yen Sid told me what it really was, I realized that it was calling out for me to help. I knew that if I didn't find it, then somebody else with a heart of darkness woulda and that would've made things a lot worse." Mickey continued, adding. "I remember what it was saying and that the two Keys were needed and that I made my decision to stay behind because there was no other way around it."

He then sighed in a hint of guilt as he gazed at the sand below him. "Just wish I coulda saved both you and Aqua back then." He muttered.

"Me too." Riku sighed. "Mickey...I'm sorry. It's my fault that things had gotten worse. I let my desire to see other worlds get to me, and made me an easy target for Ansem and Maleficent. I didn't even notice either of you until you destroyed the Heartless while Sora, Donald, Goofy and I were closing the door."

"Aw, it's not your fault, Riku." Mickey told him reassuringly. "It worked out in the end, and I know for sure that we're gonna find Aqua and bring her home."

"Yeah, but...she's all alone in the realm of darkness. What if she's scared and lost?" Riku sighed.

"I know you're worried. I am too." Mickey told him, before saying with some beliefs. "But Aqua...she's like Sora."

"_What!?_" Riku exclaimed, shocked and dumbfounded. For Aqua being wise and strong headed, he never would've expected her to be just as reckless as Sora was and having one Sora was bad enough to worry about. But two Soras was going to give him a panic attack at this stage already.

"No no no!" Mickey quickly clarified, correcting himself as he understood the younger Master's shock too well. "I-I mean she's strong like Sora!"

"Oh...good." Riku sighed in relief once he got the understanding. "Made me panic for a moment there."

Mickey sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry. Shoulda been more clear on that. Ha-ha." He then turned serious again and added, "Still, we gotta find the entrance and if my heart and the Keyblade think it's here somewhere, then there might be where we can find it."

"I do remember a door in the secret place, but...that's the heart of the world, right?" Riku recalled.

"Sure is, so it's not the entrance to the realm of darkness. Question is...where could the entrance be?" Mickey replied, thinking hard before looking at his Keyblade again, as though it could give him the answer. Humming thoughtfully, he couldn't help but quote the words he said when he first found it with Aqua two years ago. "The Door of Darkness, tied by two keys. The Door of Darkness, to seal the Light."

Suddenly, as though he just chanted magic words, the Kingdom Key-D suddenly gave out a mysterious warm glow that alarmed him and Riku. Mickey's eyes widened as the Keyblade then seemed to move on it's own despite him still holding onto it before it shot out a beam of light in front of the small lagoon. The light then materialized into that of a medivel like door that was black in design.

"...The door to darkness..." Riku whispered in awe.

"Gosh...Didn't see that one comin'." Mickey admitted, just as shocked and amazed as his friend was. He gazed at his Keyblade once more before realizing what it means. "I guess this was the Key needed to enter the Realm of Darkness and back here all along."

Now with their resolve renewed, Mickey nodded as he dismissed the Keyblade before gazing up at his friend and asking, "Ready?"

"Yeah." Riku nodded, more determined now than ever and despite that he and Mickey were about to enter the place that was worse than the worst nightmares, this time it was their intention on finding Aqua and bringing her back to the Realm of Light.

Yet even as the duo entered the door to darkness which closed behind them and vanishing until Mickey was ready to open it again to return with his friends, neither of them were fully aware that the rescue mission was going to be near impossible and would find something that would make things just as hard.

* * *

**A/N: Yep, Maleficent and Pete are still looking for the Book of Prophecies. Since I had no idea how Mickey and Riku were able to enter the Realm of Darkness the first time in KH3, and that the Kingdom Key-D, in theory, had merged with Mickey's Star Seeker Keyblade to become the Kingdom Key-W which I'm calling it the Kingdom Key of Worlds since it makes more sense, I decided to come up with this idea at the end of this chapter.**

**Plus not only Cloud makes a return in this chapter and that I added the Cyclops Titan from the movie which wasn't in the game, but Lightning makes an appearance as well.**

**Until next time where we return to Sora's group, see you in the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 3: Wrath of the Titans

**A/N: I wanted to update this three days ago, but didn't have time as I went out for Birthday Shopping for my sister. Thankfully, I managed to find time to update it today. I also think this chapter will conclude Olympus...maybe.**

**Reply to Disney Boy: Right, I thought that Maleficent had somehow found the Book of Prophecies and learned of the Black Box there, since I had no idea where she got the idea of the said Box from. That's one of the reasons why I left it out. But thank you for letting me know.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Wrath of the Titans.

Back in Olympus, Sora, Donald and Goofy worked hard and tirelessly to help evacuate as many people as possible and were thanked for their efforts. Though one woman, who hadn't known that the trio were also heroes, made a comment that they needed more training which disheartened Sora, but he had hidden it. The rest of the journey through out Thebes perilous, but the group weren't surprised given the mess that was going on. Though the Heartless didn't help as despite the trio trying to avoid them, they had to fight them in order to save the civilians as they went.

It also didn't help with most buildings on fire and the ground too hot and dangerous to cross safely. Thankfully, Goofy came up with a crazy idea of using his shield to surf and slide on the fire without getting burned as it had no damage from the flames. So the trio rode onto it while sliding their way on the burning ground, leaping over flaming debries until they reached the area where it wasn't caught on fire.

Eventually they arrived at the near crumbling building where they quickly knock away more of the stronger Heartless that attempted to do a family of three harm. Once Sora and his friends were certain that the family was safe, they nodded before hurrying to the direction where they caught sight of the towering Cyclops knocking back Hercules and Cloud who both continue to fight despite getting injuries but refused to surrender. But as they raced towards the battle field, they skid to a stop as they found another battle going on; one with a giant Heartless, not as big as the Cyclops, but pretty close in half-size. The monster's opponent was, to the trio's shock, was Lightning who was slashing and clashing against it.

She leaped while dodging it's huge weapon when it collided to the ground, creating a small tremor and a small crater on the ground. The pink-haired woman glared hard at the Heartless, refusing to give up.

"Lightning!" Sora cried out, after he and his friends shared a nod of agreement and raced over to help the woman, whether she wanted the help or not. The female soldier glanced behind and saw them as they stood by her side, weapons ready as they glared at the Heartless, much to her dismay.

"I told you to go home." Lightning scowled coldly. "This is no time to play games."

"Who says I'm playing games?" Sora retorted back. "Facing Heartless is always a serious thing to do and right now, we have take out this guy!"

"Ya' can trust in Sora." Goofy assured the very annoyed woman.

Seeing that the trio were not going to take no for an answer, Lightning sighed in frustration before glaring at the Heartless again and told them firmly. "Stay focused."

"Right!" Sora nodded.

The Heartless attacked again, but the group managed to dodge the attack as Sora charged before using his abilities to leap and jump onto the Heartless and bashing it's face and horns which he quickly found was the weak spots with his Keyblade, careful in what he is doing and avoiding the attacks from the Heartless as much as possible. Lightning took care of attacking it from behind despite that she and the others were knocked back, but recovered thanks to Donald using Curaga on all of them including himself before he chanted Thundaga at the Heartless's head.

Sora in the meantime attempted to use his Valor form to use his Double-Wielding Keyblade ability, but found to his shock that while the transformation of his clothes was successful, the other spare Keyblade didn't appear and only had the Kingdom Key on him. He didn't have time to ponder on this as the Heartless was about to crush him with it's weapon. But he dodge-rolled out of the way before he ended up squashed, and focused on jumping onto it's arm and ran up it despite it trying to shake him off. While the Keyblade Wielder once again struck it on the head, Goofy threw his Shield at the giant monster's chest, Donald casting Blizzaga to temporary freeze it's other arm, and Lightning, with casting Thunderaga at it's back, slashed it at the same time.

The Heartless didn't make it easy for them, but thankfully Sora, Donald, Goofy and Lightning managed to eventually succeed in defeating it as it crashed onto the ground before fading away into oblivion. Sora panted a little in exhaustion while his Valor form faded, the fatigue becoming obvious, but he didn't let that get to him, so he cast cure on himself and was thankful to have potions and elixirs as back ups in his pockets.

"Okay, let's help out Herc and Cloud!" Sora informed Donald and Goofy who nodded in firm agreement. They then looked at Lightning who was eying them with an expression none of them could figure out what it was at first until she spoke.

"I admit it, I underestimated you. For someone so young, you put up a good fight against that thing you call the Heartless." Lightning remarked. "Still, you shouldn't put yourself in danger."

Sora shrugged, still a bit annoyed at Lightning's lack of confidence in him. "Well, I didn't have much of a choice, and even if I did, I wouldn't just leave and let anyone get hurt, including my friends. Besides, the three of us faced danger all the time before. I'm not a kid."

"I had you all wrong." Lightning sighed, nodding. "I thought you were a teenager with an unusual weapon playing around trying to pretend to be like Hercules, which rumors did say that he is a true hero."

"So you were worried." Goofy realized.

"What makes you say that?" The Pink-Hair woman asked, a bit suspiciously.

"Gee, when ya' left earlier, ya said you were lookin' for someone and that ya didn't Sora, or Cloud or any of us to fight the Heartless. I kinda figured you were lookin' for somebody you really care about." Goofy replied.

Lightning looked away quickly, as though not wanting to reveal who she was looking for at first. But when she noticed that Sora's group looking concerned and curious and that they weren't going to leave until they were sastified with her answer, she sighed and reluctantly decided to tell them.

"...I'm looking for my younger sister. Her name is Serah. We got separated During an attack, different than the one here. During the process, she...was turned into a l'Cie, and not long after when I tried to reach her, I ended up becoming one too." Lightning explained.

"What is a...Le-see?" Sora asked, again unable to pronounce the name while Donald and Goofy shared baffled expressions once more.

"You really don't know, do you?" Lightning sighed, and when the trio shook their heads, she continued. "l'Cie are...well, they used to be human, and in most cases still look human and have human emotions and a heart...but...they are no longer human. They are cursed by a fal'Cie and given a focus. If they don't succeed in completing whatever focus that may be, they end up becoming a fal'Cie and lose whatever humanity they had left."

She then scoffed and shook her head, adding, "Then again, the reward isn't that much better if they do succeed. They end up in a crystalized sleep until they are given a new focus. Either way, once you become a l'Cie, you're done for."

Sora, Donald and Goofy shared alarmed and even more confused expressions as they tried to absord everything Lightning as told them. They began to think that these l'Cie people and the fal'Cie are similar to the Heartless and Nobodies, only without a split thing happening and without any chances of becomine human again.

"So now you know, and I gather you're scared of me, right?" The female soldier sighed, seeing their expressions.

"It's not that we're scared of you and why should we?" Sora began, shaking his head. "It's more of the fact that you and your sister got cursed by fal-whatever they are and turned into something that forces you to do what they want and that's not fair for either of you!"

"You're feeling sorry for a l'Cie?" Lightning queried with a raised eyebrow.

"Ah, c'mon. As far as I'm concerned, you're looking for Serah and that just proves that you're still a person, no matter what other people think. Finding family and friends is the most important thing and you're doing what your heart tells you to do. Besides, who says you can't change back anyway?" Sora replied.

"You're pretty confident."

"It's because I went through a similar situation, only much more different and I got lucky in turning back to normal thanks to my friends. Plus the three of us were looking for our lost friends a long time ago too, and we managed to find them. Plus I know another guy who wants to get his friends back and other people who need to be saved and had been apart from each other for way too long." Sora told her sincerely while refering to his, Donald and Goofy's first two adventures in finding Riku, Kairi and Mickey, as well as the time when Sora briefly turned into a Heartless and referring to Lea's desires to bring back Roxas and Isa.

Sora then gave Lightning a reassuring grin. "You'll find your sister, Lightning. I know you will and I got a feeling you both will turn back to normal somehow too. Not sure how, but you'll be fine."

Lightning stared at the teenage boy in slight surprise, at his sudden confidence in her despite that they only just met, that instead of running in fear from the fact of what she was, he was attempting to give her hope of something that sounded impossible and naive, and yet...she suddenly wanted to believe it. Here was a boy who seemed to be reckless, and yet he was bold and brave as well, a somewhat mature young warrior who saw the good before the bad in others, including her.

"Funny enough, I believe you. More than what Hades tried to get me to do." Lightning replied.

"So you work for Hades?" Donald asked, suspiciously.

"Please. I turned down his offer the instant he made it. Why would I trust that idiot who is causing all this in the first place? He wanted me to take down Hercules in an exchange for locating Serah. I knew though that he was lying, so I said no and walked off." Lightning scoffed.

"That's Hades alright." Sora shook his head in exasperation. "That lowlife just doesn't know when to quit."

Before they could continue the conversation, the ground rumbled that nearly made them lose their balance before they looked up and saw the giant Cyclops nearly falling over and crushing another building behind him, but recovered.

"They Cyclops!" Goofy exclaimed.

"We gotta help our friends!" Donald added, worriedly.

"Right!" Sora nodded.

"I'll go with you." Lightning volunteered, smirking a little. "Think of it as my thanks for helping me out."

Realizing what Lightning was saying, Sora nodded with a grin before he, Lightning, Donald and Goofy quickly hurried towards the area where they knew Hercules and Cloud were still fighting the one-eyed Titan.

* * *

The Cyclops certainly wasn't making it easy for Hercules or Cloud. They both managed to instruct the four people who were hiding to get to safety before continuing their fight against the giant monster. Despite that they were doing a good job in holding him back, he was relentless, and attempted to knock them back or just kill them outright. The Cyclops made to grab Hercules, but the true hero held back his massive hand despite quickly becoming strained, while Cloud tried to use this distraction to slash the monster's face. But the Cyclops saw this coming and whacked the swordsman away.

He yelled out before crashing onto the ground, hissing in pain as he struggled to push himself up. Cloud glared up hard at the Cyclops who was laughing manically even though the Titan was having trouble in simply trying to grab Hercules before they heard Sora's voice call out to them. Cloud looked behind him to see the aforementioned teenager along with Donald, Goofy and surprisingly Lightning run up to them.

"Herc!" Sora cried out worriedly, while Donald quickly healed up Cloud with a Curaga spell.

"S-Sora!" Hercules called back as much as he was able even as the Cyclops was about to catch him off-guard by grabbing him with his other hand. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Cloud and Lightning grunted before sharing a nod of agreement and raced over to attack all at once. Donald and Goofy attacked by casting Blizzaga and tossing the Shield at the free hand, forcing the Cyclops to recoil in pain. Sora, Cloud and Lightning jumped and leaped while slashing the Titan's legs and chest, forcing the monster back.

This allowed Hercules to force the hand he'd been busy in holding back backwards and causing the Cyclops to stumble, nearly losing his balance once more. He then noticed a burning piece of wood and had an idea before grabbing it and just as the Cyclops was about to try and punch the group in now growing anger, Hercules tossed the burning wood easily right at the single eye. This caused the Cyclops to scream out in pain at the burning sensation. While Sora and the others used this distraction to keep the Cyclops busy, Hercules then grabbed the Cyclop's leg and despite the very heavy build, he grunted while lifting the Titan up after the others attacked the monster while avoiding it's blinding waving arms and had knocked them back and while Sora, Cloud and Lightning landed safely despite the injures, Donald and Goofy crash landed hard.

Hercules in the meantime heaved the now alarmed Cyclops high before tossing him over a cliffside, where the giant monster fell screaming before crashing hard at the bottome below to it's death. Once he was certain that the Cyclops was gone, Hercules sighed while dusting off his hands just as Sora and the others raced over.

"You okay?" Cloud asked.

"You sure scared us for a moment there, Hercules!" Sora gently scolded his friend, very relieved that they made it in time. Donald and Goofy both nodded in agreement.

"Eh, it was nothing. That's what these are for." Hercules shrugged while flexing his muscles. "Besides, Cloud didn't hold back any punches with that guy either."

"What? For a guy with only one eye causing destruction? Why would I?" Cloud asked, half-jokingly which was a surprise for the trio.

"Did Cloud just make a joke?" Goofy asked, baffled.

Even though the situation wasn't over yet, the group couldn't help but be in a good mood, especially since they had taken on a giant Cyclops who, while Hercules and Cloud did most of the work in finishing him off, they, Sora, Donald, Goofy and Lightning made a good team in finishing the Titan off and having evacuated everyone in Thebes. However, the good mood wasn't to last because the groups attention was diverted to a corridor of darkness opening and a familiar man in a eye-patch walked out, much to the dismay of Sora, Donald and Goofy.

"Oh, wow! Very nice, full marks! And I'm not talking about getting rid of that big, ol' ugly giant dude either." Said Xigbar who applauded.

Sora, Donald and Goofy payed no attention to that and neither did Cloud, Hercules or Lightning. The former trio instead took up defense stances, not in the mood to face anyone from Organization XIII yet.

"Go away!" Donald shouted.

"No Organization!" Goofy added, glaring hard.

"You're Xigbar!" Sora exclaimed, not happy to see one of the guys who nearly turned him into a vessel what so ever. From the first time he met this guy, Sora didn't like Xigbar at all and knew that he never will.

"And you've got a knack for pointing out the obvious, kid." Xigbar shrugged while still smirking coyly at the group. "All this altrusim is giving me the warm fuzzies. So then, does having a heart of light do you much at all?"

"Will you just quit in making things up and just say what you mean for a change!?" Sora snapped, tired of the riddles and puzzles the Organization always end up making each time he meets one or two members.

"Oh, I just did. No good will ever come from putting other people first." Xigbar shrugged dismissively. "Anyone who does that usually ends up becoming dead last. Really, you should take up Spike's route and that pink-haired lady's destiny."

"You don't know anything about any of us." Cloud hissed, already taking an instant dislike for the eye-patched man in the black coat. "I fight Sephiroth on my own because I don't want anyone else to get hurt. I already lost a friend because of him, so I won't lose anymore. Not only that, I'm fighting the darkness within me."

"My destiny is to find Serah, not do what I was cursed to do." Lightning added coldly.

"You have no idea what you're talking about." Hercules added. "I was able to save Meg's life because I was ready to risk my life."

Xigbar just scoffed and countered, unfazed. "Only because you all got friends in high places. Tricks like those don't fly for your average joe. And besides which, Spiky, you lost a friend and you're fighting the darkness. You think you can defeat it by defeating Sephiroth? Pfft! As if! Why not just quit the light and join the darkness where you belong?"

"What would you know anyway?" Sora argued. "You weren't there! If you were, you'd admire Herc's courage, and should be admiring Cloud and Lightning's determinations!"

"I don't admire one guy leaping into danger if it means someone else might have to jump in to save him, or another guy chasing after another guy who is right about his reward, or a lady chasing false dreams and illusions. You're all just lining up to lose out, dooming others to take the fall for ya'." Xigbar rolled his single eye before smirking, "Oh, and you can spare me the usual party line. Yeah, hearts are powerful when they're connected."

He then turned serious and continued to Sora, "But if you put too much of that power in one place, some of those hearts if not all might just end up breaking."

"Like we'd take an advice from you." It was Sora's turn to scoff.

"I'm just trying to give you a hint. But, that doesn't mean you have to change, Sora. Accept the power you were given. Find the hearts joined to yours. You don't any choice but to follow this sweet little trail of bread crumbs." Xigbar by then turned and began to walk away, but not before giving out his parting words. "And at the end, you, that Spiky-haired dude and even someone else who's just as gullible as you believing another person's heart is like yours will finally realize what destiny has in store for you and everyone else. In fact...your reward might be around the corner. You're so close!"

Before Sora and his friends could even tell him to wait, Xigbar walked into the fog before vanishing into the corridor of darkness he just summoned which then vanished as soon as he entered. This left the group in suspicion and confusion.

"Who was that?" Lightning asked.

"Organization XIII. I've heard about them from others a while back. We have to be careful around those guys." Cloud explained, remembering that Leon and Aerith warned him about the Organization when he was in Radiant Garden before the mass Heartless invasion and his battle against Sephiroth.

Sora in the meantime, despite not wanting to take Xigbar's advice, couldn't help but voice his confusion. "Hearts breaking? Whose hearts?" He asked himself.

"Sora, don't let him bother you. He's just trying to get under you skin 'cause he thinks he can." Hercules reassured him. "But we'll prove him wrong, and we'll show him that our sacrifices haven't been for nothing."

"He's right. Don't let that guy get mess with your head. He's only trying to do what Sephiroth keeps on attempting to do." Cloud adviced, and while Lightning still had yet to learn what was going on with the group she just met, nodded her agreement.

Even though Sora was still concerned about Xigbar's words, he quickly set aside that concern and nodded in confidence at Herc's and Cloud's encouragement and advice. "Yeah, you guys are right."

"Mm hm! Besides, we're already proof enough of that!" Goofy added enthusiastically.

"We're a team! When we're together, we can do anything!" Donald said, just as boldly.

"Yeah!" Sora nodded.

"A team, huh?" Cloud muttered, unable to help but be inspired by the words as well. Having traveled on his own for so long to keep everyone else safe, maybe fighting alone wasn't really an answer. Despite that he was concerned about the safety of those he cared about even though he wasn't one to show much of his emotions, he then remembered that it was Tifa's light that helped him at least wound Sephiroth before the silver-haired man disappeared on him again. Then again, he suddenly found that he was able to show confidence of his own whenever he teamed up with someone who ended up becoming his friends.

Lightning meanwhile, gazed at the group and couldn't help but feel somewhat admired as she whispered to herself, "A team among friends who can accomplish and believe in anything...I'm a bit jealous. I guess that's what Serah was trying to tell me; doing things on your own isn't the answer." before nodding.

But as the group made their move, Sora couldn't help but pause in his steps as he gazed into the direction where Xigbar had vanised into. While he felt that it was just another one of the Organization's traps, Sora ended up thinking about what the eye-patched man was saying. Reward around the corner? What reward?

Quickly shaking his head, Sora decided to ignore the mocking words and focus on the right path he is on, such as helping this world from Hades and the Titans and Heartless, regain his lost strength and rescue the hearts that were unfairly tortured by Xehanort, and were counting on him to save and Sora wasn't going to let them down. Not by a long shot.

* * *

Meanwhile, up at Mount Olympus, the Titans were causing havoc destruction in the home of he Gods by smashing the gates open, or capturing most of the Gods who tried to fight back only to be sucked in by the Air-Titan. The King of the Gods, Zeus, who was glowing in golden aura and wearing a toga with hair and beard, was attempting to strike at the monsters that escaped the prison he created years ago, only to discover that he was out of Thunder Bolts.

"Hermes! I need more Thunder Bolts!" Zeus cried out, as Hermes, a Messenger God in blue and sunglasses and being able to fly, saluted nervously to deliver some bad news.

"Uh, I'm sorry my lord, but everyone's been captured-AH! Now I'm captured!" He yelped as Pain and Panic suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed him by the arms and pulled him away by flight. Hermes struggled to free himself from the two devils. "Hey, hey! Watch the glasses!"

Zeus growled at this, and to make things worse, before he can do anything and figure out how to save everyone, he was caught off-guard when the Fire-Titan and and the Ice Titan loomed over him, before spewing and blowing Lava and Ice that began to encast him in a large tall towering stone made of fire and ice.

"Zeusy, I'm home!" A familiar voice called out, and when Zeus looked down, his eyes narrowed in pure anger as Hades appeared on the ground smirking evilly at the King of the Gods.

"Hades...You're behind this!?" Zeus bellowed in fury, realizing it almost instantly.

"That's right, Mr, 'High-and-Mighty'! Not bad for a big gig, huh? Wasn't easy waiting for almost two decades, but hey, it's definitely worth it!" Hades responded with an evil grin. He did it. He finally conquered the place he wanted to rule over for 18 years.

Or so he thought, if he remembered something back down in Thebes.

* * *

Back in Thebes, the group found that everyone has been taken to safety and did a quick sweep around the city while taking out the Heartless at the same time before they found themselves back in the central square, while certain that this attack was to distract Hercules from stopping Hades's goal in taking over the Cosmos, and the group came up with a theory that he sent the Cyclops to kill the true hero while taking the rest of the Titans with him, which made sense.

Before they could confirm it though, they were met with a familiar flying horse and his two passengers descending from the sky almost as soon as they landed before Meg and Phil, with grins that told the group that the duo had good news with them.

"Nice job, Wonderboy. We checked the town and it looks like everyone's made it to safety." Meg congratulated warmly to her lover who smiled in relief.

"That's great." Hercules said.

"Looks like things should be okay once the fire's put out." Cloud remarked, and Sora, Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement with large relieved grins of their own.

"And Hades is dealt with." Lightning reminded firmly.

"Ah, Hades thinks he can pull off any plan, but we can handle anything he can throw us at." Sora replied confidently, placing his hands behind his head.

"That's what I wanna hear, kid. You all did great job! Things would've been a bit more complicated if you guys hadn't shown up." Phil praised, before taking notice of Lightning for the first time, and almost immediately his eyes widened in amazement, and instantly for him it was love at first sight. "Whoa!"

To the great confusion of Sora, Donald, Goofy and Cloud, sudden disgust of Lightning, and utter exasperation and embarrassment of Hercules and Meg who both facepalmed themselves while the latter shook her head with a sigh, Phil hopped off Pegasus and approached the pink-haired woman with a large wooing grin.

"Heya, sweet-cheeks. Name's Phil, your future trainer of heroes." The Satyr greeted, trying to be romantic, only to be picked up and pulled way by Meg which he quickly protested. "H-hey, hey!"

"Sorry, goat-man, but there won't be any dates for you today." Meg told him dryly, knowing what he had in mind given that she had the experience herself when she first met him and Hercules.

"A date?" Lightning asked, giving Phil a small glare. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not one for romantic relationships."

This made Phil groan before he crossed his arms while pouting, clearly annoyed for missing out on getting a date from gorgeus women yet again. Then again he never had any like for most of his life; all the girls always reject him, like Lightning for example.

"Uhhhh..." Both Sora and Cloud mumured, baffled as they slowly shared an awkward glance, not sure what just happened as they, Donald and Goofy who also shared a confused glance had never seen Phil like this before. They then turned to Hercules who chuckled sheepishly.

"It's a long story." He responded their unasked questions. The awkward conversation came to a halt however, as Hercules and everyone else heard Pegasus give out an alarmed whine as he gazed at the direction of Mount Olympus. Surely enough, dark clouds had covered the top of it like darkness, combined with an occasional boom of thunder.

"Uh oh...more trouble." Meg muttered with a wearily sigh as she happened to notice first.

"It's Hades." Hercules scowled as he realized that was the reason why everything was so quiet here, and that his and other's theory was confirmed true. "He's going after the home of the gods."

"Then let's go stop him!" Sora declared after he, Donald, Goofy and even Cloud and Lightning shared a glance and nodded in agreement that they should help Hercules to stop Hades's latest plan once and for all.

Hercules nodded in agreement, and after a quick introductions between Lightning and Meg, the latter and Phil were taken to safety by Pegasus while Hercules lead his friends onwards to the outskirts of town and up the path that would take them back up to the mountain that Sora and his companions were on before being blown away by Hades's other Titans since arriving here.

* * *

It wasn't along before the six of them arrived halfway up the mountain while having taken out Heartless that appeared all over the place. Sora and his friends dispatched them as quickly as possible as their minds on now onto stopping Hades and teach him a lesson for doing so many bad things for his own pleasure and the group wouldn't mind in giving him a bruise or two or even ten if they're lucky.

The loud rumble shook the ground and Sora, Donald, Goofy, Hercules, Cloud and Lightning almost lost their balance.

"Gawrsh, sure feels familiar." Goofy remarked.

"At least Hades isn't around to blow us off the mountain this time." Sora nodded.

"Things are getting worse by the minute." Cloud said in a serious tone.

Hercules nodded in agreement, before he knew what he had to do. The true hero let out a loud calling whistle. Heeding his friend's call, Pegasus came soaring in after having already taken Meg and Phil to safety so that he could come help Hercules just in case. As the winged horse touched town, Hercules nodded to his friends.

"Sora, Cloud, I'm gonna fly up ahead. You guys have been a big help, but...leave the rest of me. My family needs me right now." Hercules informed his friends while climbing aboard Pegasus.

"Your...family?" Sora asked, puzzled. He never heard his friend mention about his family before as far as he could remember, and why would they be up on top of the Mountain where the Gods where?

"Yeah. My father's King of the Gods." Hercules answered, before he and Pegasus took off in flight to the rest of the way up, not realizing that his answer left the other five baffled, stunned and shocked.

"His father...King of the Gods?" Cloud repeated in wide-eyed disbelief.

"Wait a minute! That means..." Sora began, incredulously as he, Donald and Goofy were having a bit of a hard time believing what Hercules just told them.

"Herc's a God too!" Goofy exclaimed. "Gawrsh, it kinda feels like something we shoulda known a long time ago."

"I guess that explains why he has strength no one else can come even close. Unless you want to count Sephiroth but that's different." Cloud mused, shaking his head, still in disbelief. "No wonder no one can beat him."

"That means he'll be okay on his own for sure." Donald said.

Sora, though, shook his head. "No. Organization XIII's here. God or not, he'll need our help in dealing with them. And Hades too for that matter."

"Even gods have their limits." Lightning nodded in agreement.

"Good point. We gotta go too!" Goofy said firmly.

"'Cause heroes never quit!" Donald added, quickly realizing that they were right and agreed that Hercules needed their help.

"I might not be a hero, but I'm nothing like Hades or Sephiroth either." Cloud stated as he and the others gazed up at the peak once more.

Sora didn't answer straight away as while he did agree with his friends, he thought back of what Hercules told him earlier. About the advice that didn't seem to be much help at all at first, but now...now the Keybearer was beginning to understand.

_"Hmmm...that's a tough one." Hercules mused, uncertain how to really answer that. "All I know is, she was in trouble and I suddenly wanted to save her with all my heart..."_

"We fight with all our hearts." Sora proclaimed softly, deciding to accept that advice none the less as he realized now that regaining his strength wasn't going to be overnight. He will have to do what he did before; journey on and continue to do what his heart knew was right; helping others, and growing in strength as he pushed on, with all the courage and kindness he had since then and will keep on going until he can get it all back.

"We should get going. Hercules won't be waiting for long." Cloud told them firmly.

"Wait. I have an idea." Lightning advised, and while she ignored the questioning looks on the others' faces, she took a couple steps forward before stopping. While Sora, Donald, Goofy and Cloud wondered what she was doing, the pink-haired female soldier placed a hand on her heart as it began to glow pink and a pink crystal rose appeared in front of her.

"Odin!" She exclaimed, slicing the crystal in half with her gunblade, which then a giant silver six legged horse emerged and then appeared above them, much to the group's shock and amazement.

"Whoa!" Sora gapped in awe.

"Wow!" Donald and Goofy both exclaimed.

"...That's impressive." Cloud commented with wide-eyes.

Lightning didn't comment on their reactions and instead jumped onto Odin's back, gesturing the others to join her. Knowing that this was a quicker way to head up, Sora and the others nodded before they climbed on one by one. Telling them to hold on tight, Odin somehow took flight despite not having wings and flew up towards the mountain while Sora and the others held on.

* * *

It didn't take long for Sora, Donald, Goofy, Cloud and Ligthning to reach the top thanks to Odin, even through fightning Heartless in the air and the storm they were passing with rain pouring down and lightning strikes here and there which they ignored. Despite the storm, as they reached the very realm of the Gods itself, Olympus was absolutely amazing. It's large golden gates led the group of five on Odin to a radiant realm of sacred light.

Disembarking on Odin who vanished after Lightning thanked him, the group stepped into the divine domain of large towering pillars that were sculpted by clouds and golden structures as far as the eye could see. Needless to stay they were utterly struck in awe at such a beautiful place.

"This is...Olympus?" Sora asked, stunned by the drastic change of scenary after being in the town below that was in trouble for so long.

"Gawrsh, it's amazing..." Goofy said softly, only for him, Donald, Sora, Cloud and Lightning to be quickly occupied by a large group of large soldier-satyr like Heartless seconds later. Fortunately the five of them quickly brought out their weapons. The group charged head first despite being out-numbered, but they were determined to set things right.

They made quick work at the first wave of Heartless even though another took over, but Sora and his friends didn't stop there. They fought their way through the heart of Olympus itself hoping to catch up to Hercules. As luck would have it, they did as when they were close in reaching the main summit they caught sight of their friend on Pegasus, making a beeline for the very top as they saw the heart of the dark clouds formed. Hercules in the meantime spotted Sora's group, Cloud and Lightning and gave them a small and confident nod of greeting since he had expected them to come.

While the six of them were about to arrive in no time, Hades, fully aware of his enemies' approach, stood victoriously within the sacred rotunda as not only Zeus was almost completely covered in his prison of ice and molten rock, but all of the other gods were held captive by the lesser Titans as well as Pain and Panic who were grinning away as they held Hermes in shackles.

"I swear to you, Hades, when I get out of this-" Zeus growled angrily at his brother, but he never got the chance to finish his sentence as he was completely covered in his prison that sealed him and all of his power away.

"Yeah, nah. I'm the one giving orders now, bolt boy." Hades remarked with a smug grin as he conjored up a dark throne and took a seat that finalized his domain as the new ruler of the realm of the gods. "And I think I'm gonna like it here."

Too bad he spoke too soon.

"Don't get too comfortable, Hades!" A very familiar voice taunted.

Hades jolted in shock in his seat at the exclaim as he spun around and saw none other than Hercules riding on Pegasus with his sword in hand with a grin. While Hades gazed at his enemy in horrified shock, his anger grew higher as another, younger voice called out from behind him again.

"Yeah, 'cause we're here to stop you!" The younger voice added.

Hades looked to see Sora, Donald, Goofy, and to his further dismay, Cloud and that pink-haired woman who turned down his offer earlier; Lightning, all of them with their weapons in hand. To make matters worse for the Lord of the Dead, Hercules sped in and cut through chains and shattering them into pieces with a single eased string with his sword, freeing the other Gods who were cheering him and his friends on. Hermes also took the oppotunity to beat up Pain and Panic with his staff.

Hades by then had turned fiery red in pure anger, and turned to his Titans to get rid of the group of six before they ended up ruining his plans all together.

"GET THEM!" Hades shouted to the four remaining Titans after realizing that the group had defeated the Cyclops. The Titans didn't hesitate as they stomped over to the five mortals, towering over them. While Sora, Donald, and Goofy thought about they, Cloud and Lightning had to fight towering giant monsters, those thoughts were quickly forgotten as Hercules leaped down from Pegasus and landed next to his friends to join them.

"You guys ready for this?" Hercules asked, already taking up a fighting stance.

"We're always ready." Sora assured confidently, not willing to back down.

The fight however was daunting. The group had to quickly leap out of the way when the Fire-Titan spat out boiling lava in their direction which was followed by hurling rocks from the Rock-Titan that shook the ground violently, ice spikes from the Ice Titan and destructive strong winds from the Air-Titan. Despite this, they decided to try and focus on each Titan as much as possible. Cloud then had an idea and leaped onto the Rock Titan while slashing at it despite that it was a giant rock, he jumped over it's head and waited until the two giant massive fists came towards him. Which was what he needed.

The swordsman jumped off in the nick of time, while the Rock Titan accidentally hit itself on one of it's heads. Cloud in the meantime struck hard at it's other head while it roared in pain before dodging to safety. Lightning turned her gunblade's sword form into a gun and shot fired at the Ice Titan which Donald tried melting with his Fire Spells but had to run away screaming before he ended up frozen. Hercules tossed an object at the Air-Titan's face while it was busy trying to suck him and his friends up. Sora and Goofy took on the Fire-Titan, but as they tried casting ice spells and shields at it, they had to dodge it's attacks before they ended up burned.

Sora then noticed Hades was behind him and the Fire-Titan was in front of him before he had a cheeky idea. Grinning, the teenager then made taunting faces at it. The Titan roared in anger before spitting out more lava which Sora dodged out of the way just in time before he ended up roasted. Hades on the other hand saw too late what the Keyblade Wielder's idea was.

"Hey, whoa!" The God of the Underworld cried out before he ended up covered in lava, which didn't kill him since he's a god. Just annoyed by the lava hot muddy mess he was in before shouting at his huge minions. "No, get them! Not me!"

Seeing that they needed an advantage after Hercules picked up the Rock Titan by the leg and slammed it with his mighty strength onto the ground, knocking it unconscious, the group then had another idea. Sora, Donald and Goofy lined up and taunted the Ice Titan while they, Cloud and Lightning, facing the Fire-Titan just behind the trio, dared it to attack them. The two Titans attacked full on, but their targets jumped out of the way and the two monsters ended up hitting each other, sending the Ice Titan back, while the Lava Titan was turned briefly into rock. This allowed Cloud and Lightning to deliver a huge double-strike at it's face.

Sora, Donald and Goofy in the meantime clashed against the Ice Titan with the Keyblade Wielder jumping up using his Motion Flow and tossed his Keyblade at it's face. The trio then quickly dodged when the Ice Titan made to freeze them with it's Blizzard, and they rushed past Hades who had just cleaned himself up from the Fire-Titan's fire.

"Follow the fingers! Them!" Hades pointed at the trio, only to be frozen solid in ice apart from his eyes and mouth, turning him into a godcicle. He shuddered while grunting in sheer annoyance. "The Key-Brat, with the duck and dog!"

Pegasus in the meantime decided to chase Pain and Panic who, after just escaping Hermes, were now about to be attacked by the horse.

"Please don't hurt us, horsey!" Panic screamed, only for him and his companion to be caught by their tails as Pegasus sat on them with his hind legs.

"Nice horsey! Ya' know, we were going to cheer on Wonderboy." Pain tried to reason innocently. The response he and Panic got was Pegasus punching them with his front legs like punching bags while also hitting them onto the ground several times, laughing as he went.

Once the Ice Titan was distracted, Sora and his friends attacked by the legs which foced the ice monster to topple over in surprise and shock before it crashed into the Fire-Titan who fell the ground, both of them out for the count. Though before the six of them who regrouped could cheer, they were all suddenly lifted off the ground by the furious Air-Titan who took them up into the dark clouds to finish them off itself. Fortunately the group quickly had another idea and formed in a circle.

Lightning summoned Odin who took on a more humanoid form with large swords, commanding it to slash at one of the Air-Titan's tornado arms while Hercules punched the other. Cloud spun his Fusion Sword over his head as it began to glow in blue light, then he leaped and slashed at it's face. Sora, Donald and Goofy performed a Trinity Skill of using Goofy's Shield to glide their way towards the Titan, using the air gravity to lift them up. Donald used another Blizzaga Spell as did Sora who then jumped and slashed and bashed it's face several times.

Though they did manage to knock it back and they all landed safely thanks to the help of Odin who vanished once more, the Titans were not down to count because all began to recover and loomed over the six of them who were tired and exhausted despite Donald healing all of them with his magic.

"This is ridiculous...!" Cloud hissed, panting.

"Garwsh, there's four of them we still gotta keep fightnin'! Goofy gulped worriedly.

"It'll be okay!" Sora said defiantly, refusing to let this get to him. "There's only four of them and six of us!"

"Actually, make that seven." Hercules interjected grinning as he gazed up at the molten rock. Wasting no time and not giving the Titans a chance to attack, the true hero jumped up and reached the group before digging his fingers into the rock. light erupted from the cracks and Zeus emerged from his former prison, his light and power fully restored. Hades, while having freed himself from his icy situation, screamed in fury and pure horror.

"Thank you, my boy." Zeus smiled warmly at his son. He then summoned more Thunderbolts as he laughed with a proud smirk. "Aha! Now watch your old man work!" He aimed his weapons at the Rock Titan who noticed this.

"**Uh-oh.**" It muttered in fear, quickly knowing what was about to happen. The King of the Gods tossed his Bolts at it's right head which was smashed and gone almost instantly, much to the amazement of Sora, Donald, Goofy, Cloud and even Lightning who were stunned by the incredible power of Zeus. The half-blinded Rock Titan, as well as the other Titans, reminded of this power, decided to make a retreat as they didn't want to face anymore wrath from the God.

Unfortunately, they didn't even make it to the gates as Hercules grasped the Air-Titan's tail. He lifted the Titan with little effort and swung it around Olympus, sucking in the other three Titans. While the Titans were losing their powers by being mixed in trapped in the Air-Titan's Tornado body, Hercules tossed them into the sky where they were sent flying far beyond the Cosmos where they exploded harmlessly, destroyed and ending their regime of terror once and for all.

"All right!" Sora cheered along with Donald and Goofy who were jumping up and down happily, Hercules and Zeus sharing an enthusiastic high-five, and the other Gods who weren't able to help in the battle but watched on cheered on for Hercules and his friends. Cloud chuckled with a small smile while Lightning gave a bit a smile of her own.

Hades on the other hand couldn't believe this had happened. He sparked red in utter fury as he glared at the group of Sora's group, Cloud and Lightning who noticed this and gazed at him. The same group who had just turned his plans into dust.

"I can't believe it! I put eighteen years into that plan and you _blippin' ruined it!_ I really _don't_ _like_ any of you. And believe me, that's me being _nice_." Hades growled sharply.

"Oh, just give it a rest already." Sora rolled his eyes, unfazed by the anger. "You'll never beat Herc, no matter how many times you try!"

"And not everyone will be falling into your lies or tricks, so you might as well stop all together." Cloud added.

Lightning nodded in agreement, adding. "If this is how you treat everyone in the Underworld, then it's no wonder no one wants to die."

"Yeah!" Goofy added vigorously. "Go back to the Underworld where ya' belong!"

"Go have the time of your afterlife!" Donald concluded with a wry and teasing smirk.

Hades was really losing it now. He snapped fiercely, "ENOUGH! I did NOT come this far to be ridiculed by Zeusy High and Mighty, his little sunspot, a broody spikey-haired sour-puss, a moping little pink-bird and a trio of _clowns_! You know what? I'll just go ahead and destroy you myself!"

"You really don't know when to shut up, do you?" Cloud commented in exasperation as he, Sora, Donald, Goofy and Lightning quickly stood in battle stances once more, preparing to fight Hades this time. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any need.

"Hades." Hercules spoke up calmly, and when Hades turned around with an angry glare, not only was the true hero standing there, but Zeus as well as father and son gave the Lord of the dead amused expressions as Hercules gestured at the gates. "The exit's that way."

Despite wanting to go up against his enemies, the warning gaze in Zeus's eyes, plus the large number of heroes who had taken down five Titans surrounding him and the fact that he'll just end up losing even further, Hades begrudgingly decided to back off and cooled off, his flames becoming blue once more. With an annoyed sigh of defeat, he began to walk away towards the gates, sulking.

He didn't get far.

"Oh, almost forgot." Hercules said. Hades paused in his steps and turned around...just to be punched painfully right in the face which not only knocked him down, but also literally shoved his face into his head. "That's for trying to wreck Thebes."

Sora, Donald and Goofy burst out laughing hysterically while Cloud tried to hide his laughter by covering his face with one hand, but was unsuccessful as he chuckled, and Lightning couldn't hold back her laughter either.

"_...Why..You...!_" Hades managed to muffle before returning his face back to normal, briefly dazed at the sensation, and then growled angrily at Hercules, giving him a final warning parting words while he began to teleport away. "You'll pay for this! You all will! I have a very, very long memory! I can still dunk your little Nut-Meg into the river of dea-"

He didn't get the chance to finish as Zeus easily and casually sent a bolt of lightning in his direction. Hades ended up shrieking in literal shock when he was hit while making his further embarrassment exit back to the Underworld, defeated once and for all...at least for now anyway.

"He _really_ doesn't know when to shut up." Lightning whispered, agreeing with Cloud's remark. No one argued with either of them on that.

* * *

With Hades defeated and the Titans destroyed, Olympus was quickly restored to it's peaceful and radiant peace and all of the Gods and Goddesses returned to their seats of power, including Zeus who thanked Hercules and his five friends of mortal noble heroes. Though despite the celebration going on, the group they couldn't stay since Thebes was still recovering from Hades' attack, especially from the giant Cyclops. So the six of them began to hurry back to the mortal realm even though Hercules paused, gazing at the place where he was born and yet didn't feel like he belonged to.

Noticing their friend pausing, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Cloud and Lightning stopped and gazed at him, then realizing what Hercules was thinking.

"You sure you wanna leave all this behind?" Sora asked his friend with sympathy.

"Yeah, isn't Olympus your home?" Goofy added.

"You came this far to reunite with them, right?" Even Cloud queried as Donald shared a look of concern and even Lightning looked a bit worried.

Hercules smiled softly at his friends' concerns, then shrugged as he replied. "I can see my family anytime I want. But...If I stayed, I'd have to part away from the person I love the most...and a life like that, even an immortal life...would be, empty."

No soon he said this, Hercules caught sight of the aforementioned person at the bottom of the golden steps of Olympus. Meg who was gazing up at him with a loving look as she waited.

He smiled, making up his mind. "I finally know where I belong."

Without second thought, he raced down the stairs to meet with Meg who ran up to him in huge relief, and the two met in a sweet, loving embrace that confessed their belongs more than words ever would. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and even both Cloud and Lightning were touched by this warm sight and despite wanting to give the two lovers some privacy, the five of them soon joined up with them with smiles of their own. Hercules and Meg returned grins to their grins as they ended their embrace.

"Sora, we never got back to your question. Do you think there's a way I can help?" Hercules asked the Keybearer, his resolve renewed.

To his surprise, Sora shook his head with a smile. "Nah, it's okay. I think this is something I'm meant to figure out myself. I'll find my strength again the way you found yours; by fighting for something I care about...with all my heart. So, I guess you did have an answer after all."

"Well, you've definitely got heart, Sora. Keep it up and I know you'll be stronger in no time." Hercules nodded, relieved that his friend's resolve has been restored and he was back as the happy-go-lucky Sora he knew.

"Yeah! Who knows, maybe I'll be stronger than you someday." Sora exclaimed while playfully reflexing his muscles even though he couldn't compure to Hercules.

"That'll be the day." Cloud teasingly scoffed.

"Gimme a break." Donald rolled his eyes while Goofy chuckled in amusement.

"...With all my heart..." Lightning repeated softly to herself as she listened what was said. Combined with what Sora told her earlier and what the boy himself heard from Hercules, it gave her...comfort and renewed resolve to find her sister. Nodding, she then began to walk past the group who noticed.

"Lightning?" Sora called out, making the woman stop.

"Are you leaving?" Donald queried.

Lightning didn't look back, though she did reply. "I have to go. Serah still needs me. Like you and Hercules, Sora, I'll keep fighting until I find her..." She then turned and gave them a genuine smile. "With all my heart."

"Good to hear!" Sora praised. "You'll find her; I know you will, Lightning."

"...Call me Light." Lightning requested, and then once more headed off back the mortal realm to continue her own journey with a parting wave as Sora and the others watched her go.

The group were silent for a moment, and Cloud gave a soft smile of his own as he too was surprisingly inspired by the words from Hercules and Sora. "Guess I should do the same with my heart." He commented.

When the others looked up at him, Cloud continued. "All this time I haven't been paying attention to anything but settling the score. Trying to drive away the darkness. I was unable to look at the light until I realized I still have people that I care about too. There's not a thing I don't cherish."

Cloud then turned to the teenage boy and said, "Sora...you're a lucky kid."

"Lucky?" Sora asked, a bit confused.

"For having such skill in making friends and staying by them and saving them when they need it; like Herc. You remind me of my best friend. He was a cheerful guy too, and dreamed on becoming a hero. I guess you and Tifa helped me find the light. So...thanks." Cloud explained.

Understanding what Cloud was talking about, Sora grinned happily at his friend. "Yeah, we're friends too, Cloud! Our hearts are connected, no matter how far we are."

"Yeah..." Cloud nodded.

The group all shared smiles for a long while before they decided to head back to Thebes even though Sora, Donald and Goofy knew they had to get going. They and Cloud apologized to Hercules and Meg for being unable to help clean up the mess Hades caused, which the two told them that it was fine. They all then parted aways as while Cloud left on his own to continue his search for Sephiroth in whatever world the silver-haired man was, Sora, Donald and Goofy left Olympus behind to report to Master Yen Sid.

Yet neither of the departing four knew what was coming towards them in the near future, nor did their other friends they cherished most.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Thebes, Maleficent was waiting outside of a ruined building of an ancient Library patiently even as things had began to calm down while Pete was hastily digging through the rubble to even get inside the building without it collapsing on top of him.

"Are we sure that Book of Prophecies is even real?" Pete asked as he dug.

"Be quiet." Maleficent ordered. "I must have the Book of Prophecies to reach our goal, to use it's power to conquer all the worlds and drive out all light within them."

The henchman grumbled before finally managing to make away for the entrance...only to find that most of the books were ruined and toppled over, and the inside of the building itself wasn't much better than the outside. That, in Pete's opinion, didn't look very promising.

"Uh, Maleficent? I don't think we're gonna have much luck. It's gonna take forever to find that book with all of the other books all over the place." Pete hesitatedly reported, moving aside for the evil fairy to see.

Maleficent scanned carefully in the inside and the books on the floor, before frowning in huge disappointment before turning away and began to walk off. "None of those books are what I desire."

"W-what?" Pete gapped in shock.

"Come, Pete. We are finished with this world." Maleficent commanded, opening a Corridor of Darkness and entered it. Pete groaned in disappointment as he grumbled at the fact that he just dug through a building for nothing, before simply giving the ruins a look and then hurried to follow his boss out of this place.

Unaware that Sephiroth was watching from above another building with a curious but dark smirk, having heard everything what Maleficent and Pete were discussing. A Book of Prophecies? It seemed like utter nonsense, but it did perk his curiosity.

"A book that can foresee the future? Perhaps I should go look for it to gain the Key to Return Hearts." The silver-haired man muttered to himself. If he had both, he could finally cast and control Cloud into darkness, and do that, he would need Sora.

Sensing someone all of the sudden, however, the one-winged angel looked up and saw Xigbar who noticed him. The two men shared a glance before Sephiroth gave the Nobody a smirk before vanishing into darkness to also leave to continue his search towards his goal, leaving Xigbar on his own for the time being.

"Well...that just complicates things even further. Guess I'd better give the old coot a report that Sora's gang ain't the only ones to worry about." Xigbar grumbled, before scoffing as he smirked. "Still...that one-winged guy and that stupid witch-hag think they can get to the Key to Return Hearts and the Book of Prophecies? Heh. As if!"

With that, Xigbar teleported away to regroup with Xehanort and the other members of Organization XIII. Despite this...

Things were really about to get started.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry the ending of this chapter wasn't that crash hot. But the Olympus arc is finally done! Next time, we catch up to Riku and Mickey to see how they fare.**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 4: Corrupted Way-Finder

**A/N: Okay, so the last chapter was too long. Sorry about that. I hope it wasn't too terrible, but I will try to do harder. Anyway, this chapter is quite dark and uh...let's just say it begins to really direct differently while still following some parts of KH3 at the same time.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Corrupted Way-Finder.

The realm of darkness, a place where Heartless were born and bred, their sole purpose to devour hearts and the light within them, showing no mercy or emotions, was a place of nightmares. This world was a death sentence to anyone who wouldn't be able to survive here. Only a lucky few did and one had been trapped here for a little over a decade while the rest had escaped. Now two of those four had returned, their purpose to rescue her.

Timeless hours had passed since Mickey and Riku had returned to the realm of darkness and had sense then began their search for Aqua, to bring her home to the realm of light. But before they would begin their search, they were almost immediately attacked by Heartless, but they managed to take care of them and then realized that the realm of darkness seemed to react and wanted nothing more than to destroy those from the realm of light. Thankfully their new vestments protected them from being swallowed up.

Aqua on the other hand wasn't so lucky, which is the very reason why Mickey and Riku had to find her quickly, but strode on in a steady pace. They didn't want to get caught off-guard again. They traversed through the dark rocky path that was surrounded by the stone spire and landmass. The bizzare blue cracks was their only source of light which looked like veins which made it even more terrifying. Mickey led the way since once traveled here before, and then with Aqua before they'd been separated.

But then the King paused when he heard his friend's footsteps grow silent. Mickey turned and found that Riku had paused in his steps.

"What's the matter, Riku? Are you tired?" Mickey asked, curiously and quickly growing concerned before offering. "Ya' know, they say that just being in the realm of darkness can wear you out if you're not careful. We can take a break for a bit, if ya want."

Riku glanced at his friend with a smile at the concern. "I'm fine. It's just...I've been here before, so I should know this place. But all that seems like a lifetime ago. It's hard to believe that it hasn't been that long."

"Well, gee, think of all of the things you have seen since then! All the things you felt. Why, you've done years of growin' in almost no time at all!" Mickey grinned, proud of his friend's accomplishment. That accomplishment is what Mickey had seen at first hand, and that path had helped Mickey soon realize that while darkness is dangerous, as long as anyone didn't mess with it or the light like Xehanort had been doing for twelve years, if not longer, then it wasn't that bad.

"It does feel like I have. When I first came here, I was terrified. But now...all those fears and doubts that I had are gone." Riku agreed and explained. "If anything, I feel exhilarated. Not because of the darkness within me or the adrenaline. This is different, because Aqua needs us. I'm ready now, because I'm in control of my darkness. Maybe it's because you're with me, Mickey."

"It's not me." Mickey shook his head knowingly. "I think it's because you've finally found the special strength inside you to protect what matters."

"Huh?" Riku asked, as he was suddenly struck by a sense of deja vu he wasn't quite sure of yet.

"Sometimes when you care about someone so much, other feelings disappear and then there would be no room for fear and doubt." Mickey explained, knowing all too well on what it's like. Not just him or Riku, but others as well; Sora, Aqua, Ventus, even Axel. The King had gone through times of risking his life to save his friends as best as he could.

"Is that it?" Riku asked, surprised that it was that simple. When he was younger and less experienced, he had mostly doubted that those feelings were strengths from the heart. But since then, he experienced everything he's seen and had no problem in believing the strengths of the heart.

More than that, as he gazed at his hand, the newly made Keyblade Master then remembered; back when he was just a five year old little boy back on the islands. It was then that he touched the handle of the Keyblade for the first time, back when he'd been so innocent and curious about the outside worlds. One day, his curiosity grew when a young man from the outside world had arrived. Riku never knew the guy's name, but despite his strong and formidable appearance, his eyes were kind and his voice was gentle, having respected the younger Riku like an equal.

_"In your hand, take this key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, it's wielder you shall one day be. And then you will find me, friend-no ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below or above, so long you as you champion the ones you love."_

It was then that Riku had been chosen to wield the Keyblade. He hadn't thought of that memory often growing up, and had actually forgotten about it until recently, when it became more clear as to how he gotten to hold the Keyblade in the first place. While the Kingdom Key chose Sora over him because of what Maleficent and Xehanort had done to him, Riku still found his current Keyblade none the less.

Even so, Riku realized that Mickey was right. As long as he fought to protect his friends who mattered more to him than anything else, there was no limits in what he can do.

Same thing that Sora felt. All of them felt that.

"Strength to protect what matters..." He muttered to himself, before speaking to Mickey once more. "That reminds me of a promise I made."

"Really? To who?" Mickey asked.

"To someone I met before. Can't tell." Riku replied, also remembering the secret he promised to keep. Even to this day he still hasn't told Sora who, despite what his friend said when they were younger, wasn't really the best secret keeper. But at least he tried.

All the same, Mickey smiled. "Gosh, sure sounds like a good memory."

"Yeah, it was." Riku nodded before he looked around their surroundings once more and his manner turned serious again. "Speaking of memories, does any of this look familiar to you, Mickey?"

"Well, sort of." Mickey admitted. "But the realm of darkness has changed since before I met up with you in Castle Oblivion, and after I met up with Aqua."

"Yeah, it's different for me too when I was here." Riku agreed. "Kinda makes our search a bit more challenging, huh?"

Mickey nodded, "Yep. But I'd usually follow my heart, and everybody would show me the way; you, Sora, and Aqua."

He knew the method Aqua once told him, and it was what helped him find and done his best to save the friends he still had. Mickey then frowned in concern, and admitting, "But the closer I'm getting, the hazier the connection is feeling..."

"You mean...?" Riku frowned when he heard this, hoping that their journey here hadn't been for nothing.

"I-I hope not..." Mickey replied, not wanting to fear the worst either. He quickly became determined, "But we can't give up! We'll just have to keep lookin' until we find her!"

"Right." Riku nodded, knowing that they had to find Aqua. He had to return the favor to her for saving him.

So the pair continued to traverse deeper into the perilous darkness on the path that forged ahead. Thankfully some of the Heartless left them alone and when other Heartless attacked them, Riku and Mickey easily defeated them. But the more they went further, the hazier Mickey's connection with Aqua got no matter where they went or searched.

But as they were crossed a large stone path, the entire area suddenly shook violently that almost made the two Keyblade Masters lose their balance but it did stop them in their tracks. Before they could ask what was going on, the ground began to give way and crumble to their left.

"Look out!" Mickey cried out before he and Riku took a leap back. However the crumbling was too fast for them and while his friend was in a safer distance, Mickey wasn't so lucky as the crumbling stopped right underneath him but it also gave way. The king screamed in alarm as he couldn't jump up in time to reach to safety.

"Mickey!" Riku yelled, racing over and grabbed hold of his friend's hand and fell to his knees while holding onto Mickey who was dangling over the newly made cliff while the rocks fell into the darker abyss below. He and Riku both held a tight grip on each other's hands, when they noticed something within the dark abyss that nearly made their hearts jump into their throats. A pair of gleaming evil eyes, and an growing visible mouth with wisdom sharp teeth as the creature below gave a soft growl.

Mickey felt terrified, but he was more worried that he'd end up making Riku fall if the ground gave way under his friend too and then they would end both end up falling prey to the monster that he was certain was one of the most dangerous Heartless in existence; a giant pureblood Heartless that he didn't want to find out, but the safety of his friends was more important to him.

"Hold on, Mickey!" Riku called to his friend, grunting as he pulled Mickey up to the safety of the platform while careful that it wouldn't give way underneath him as well even as the giant Heartless began to slowly ascend towards them. Fortunately the teenage young man pulled Mickey and set him onto the ground and the two edged away to a bit of a safer and more solid ground, panting at the close call.

"You okay?" The teen asked.

"I-I think so. Thanks, Riku." Mickey sighed, only for him and Riku to jump slightly as the massive creature suddenly shot up and the two had to briefly struggle against the winds that came with it before they looked up and took in the appearance of the Heartless.

Unlike most they had seen so far, it somehow resembled a cross to a Dark Side Heartless without the heart-shaped hole in the chest, the fake Ansem's Guardian Monster without the bandage over it's mouth, and even Chernabog that Riku remembered fighting during the Mark of Mastery exam without the wings and was about the same size of it, only two or three times bigger, if not five or seven. Wasting no time even though they both had a feeling this thing was extremely dangerous, both Mickey and Riku quickly got up and summoned both the Star Seeker Keyblade and the Way to Dawn Keyblade, bracing themselves for a fight.

The Heartless just stared at them, at first not moving. To the duo's surprise, the giant monster then just continued to rise up while becoming covered in darkness and while Riku and Mickey were about to attack, the huge thing simply just vanished into the dark sky, leaving just the two of them as they gazed up, baffled.

"What in the worlds...?" Riku muttered, stunned and confused.

"Somethin's wrong. That wasn't just any Heartless. Not sure why, but I got a bad feelin' about this." Mickey said, frowning. "We'd better be careful and find Aqua."

Not wanting to stand around in case that Heartless came back, Riku nodded in agreement before following Mickey once again. Yet neither of them knew that this wouldn't be the last time they would be seeing the giant Heartless.

* * *

While somewhat shaken by the appearance of a giant Heartless that strangely left them alone, Riku and Mickey eventually found themselves at the Dark Margin, one that Riku suddenly felt a sense of deja vu. He's been here before.

Before Riku could speak his thoughts, Mickey's voice was apprehensive and fretful.

"It's gone..." Mickey muttered, "But somehow it's close too."

"What do you mean?" Riku asked, concerned.

"I'm postive Aqua was here. But now...her trail's gone dim." Mickey said and he knew it was true. He followed the light that belonged to his fellow Master that was faint, but he felt it within his heart, that familiar spark. But upon following it here, it just...vanished. Yet at the same time it was pretty close, but darkness was surrounding it, almost like it was making Aqua invisible, but Mickey grimly knew that wasn't the case.

"I was here too with Sora, after we beaten Xemnas." Riku responded. "It was here that we found our way back to the Realm of Light." He then came up with a hopeful theory and said, "Maybe Aqua did too."

As much as Mickey wanted to believe the theory, he knew the truth was much more grim. He gazed at the ocean before them and told his friend in sadness. "No...She...she's fallen into the deepest abyss of darkness. Somewhere I can't see her, and I don't think we're equipped to dive any further than we're already are."

"So then...we're going to have to..." Riku began, slumping his shoulders in defeat, only to be interrupted by a large swarm of Heartless that suddenly rose from the ground. It formed into a Demon Tide.

"Oh no!" Mickey exclaimed, before he and Riku quickly summoned their Keyblades. "Be careful, Riku! Even the smaller Heartless are stronger in this place!"

"Got it!" Riku nodded his understanding. The Heartless then let out a loud shriek which prompted him and Mickey to take action. The pair narrowly managed to dodge when the Demon Tide came crushing into the sand before re-emerging to attack again. The two quickly slashed and clashed against it with Riku using Dark-Firaga against it, dodge-rolling out of the way before it could attack him. Mickey triple-air-somursaulted, whacking the tide with the Star Seeker Keyblade as he went.

The Heartless was pushed back, but it wasn't slowing down anytime soon as it hit the two of them and knocked them to the ground. Fortunately, Mickey chanted Curaga on Riku and himself before they leaped out of the way to avoid in getting swallowed up by the Heartless. At Mickey's instruction while pointing at the large orange orb in the middle when the Heartless separated, the two struck hard at it since it was the core of the Demon Tide as quickly as possible. The two chanted Ice Spells of Light and Darkness to temporary freeze the other Heartless to give them enough time to at least weaken it.

While Mickey keep the other Heartless busy with his Keyblade, Riku leaped up and struck a devastating blow by perching the tip of his Keyblade right into the heart of the core, destroying it almost instantly. The Core exploded upon impact and because of it's destruction, the rest of the Heartless scattered and disappeared.

Despite this, the pair only had a tiniest brief of rest before more Heartless attacked and emerged, the ground shaking and an entirely knew Demon Tide emerged to attack them.

"It's not ever yet!" Mickey warned as he quickly knocked away, before he sensed the dark movements as Riku was busy himself. When the King turned to look, he gasped in horror as he saw where it was going to attack next. "Riku, look out!" He screamed out.

Mickey's warning came too late as Riku turned to see the Demon Tide with only enough time to gaze at it before it slammed right into him and flew around, swallowing him whole and forcing him to let go of his Keyblade which flew out and crashed onto the sand.

"RIKU!" Mickey screamed, before he quickly rushed over to attack the Heartless to save his friend. He wasn't going to lose Riku! Not again! Not here when Aqua was still trapped in the deepest abyss. But as he prepared to chant Light onto the Demon Tide, it somehow caught him off-guard and knocked him to the side. He cried out before his back hit the dark rock and he screamed in pain before slumping onto the ground while his Keyblade dismissed itself.

Mickey felt himself unable to move, but he did manage to look up and his eyes widened in horror that the Demon Tide began to disappear and at first he feared the worst, but then something strange happened. Rather than fading away, it formed into darkness before creating some kind of sphere hovering in the air. Something then just burst or rather leaped out from it and Mickey had to shield his face with his arm for a moment before he lowered it and saw, a strikingly familiar figure completely covered in darkness.

In the orb above him, Mickey saw it becoming somewhat see-through and his heart froze to see Riku, unconscious but still alive, held up by his wrists which were shackled. He turned back to the figure and his heart dropped frozen as she picked up Riku's fallen Keyblade.

"**A Keyblade of darkness...only fully powered by a heart of darkness...**" The figure spoke, in a beautiful but now very cold and emotionless female voice.

"...Is it her?" Mickey asked shakily. No...it can't be...! How could this have happened!? He had known for sure that her heart had been full of light...could he have been wrong?

Hearing him, the figure turned to glare hard at him as the darkness faded, revealing none other than Aqua. But her appearance changed; her hair was silver, her eyes were golden yellow, and her skin was tanned, much like Xehanort. Her outfit was black and purple, and her hands...had become clawed and sharp in red and black.

"**Mickey...You're too late.**" Aqua told him darkly.

"W-what happened?" Mickey asked, fearfully as he slowly stood up. Did the darkest abyss turned her into...a Half-Heartless? Was this...the result of what Xehanort had become? After years of being trapped in the realm of darkness? He had thought that her light was still strong enough to keep her going until he and Riku would come and save her...Unless like times before, he had been gravely mistaken. He didn't want to believe it, but the cold numbness of the truth was slowly swallowing him.

"**You ABANDONED me, that's what! Left me in this shadow prison for more than a decade, **_**knowing**_** what it would do to me.**" Aqua snapped angrily, glaring heatedly as though she was speaking the truth.

The King froze up in fear and growing sorrow...and utter guilt. Was it true? Had Mickey really abandoned her? Didn't see remember her sacrifice to save Riku? Didn't see remember the two of them meeting again? That he saved her and didn't have a choice? Or was it the darkness that made her this bitter that all of her true feelings were replaced by cold thoughts that she finally surcumbed to it? He hadn't meant to take so long in saving her and now...now Aqua, one of his dearest friends who had a heart full of pure light, had become a monster of pure darkness.

And Mickey had no one to blame but himself and Xehanort...but more than anything, he should've gone with her to find Terra...but he didn't. His gullibility between Master Xehanort and his re-youthful appearance as Ansem's apprentice had lead the disaster that engulfed Radiant Garden, the creation of Organization XIII, had ruined so many people's lives and gotten everyone else involved; Lea, Isa, Ansem the Wise and his other apprentices, Donald, Goofy, Sora, Riku, Kairi, everyone...

Now his naive beliefs in having faith in Aqua's heart has ended up with this. Mickey should've stayed rather than helping Riku...but he wanted to help the teenager who was now one of his closest friends and who was currently trapped...which made Mickey's guilt worsen since the newly named Keyblade Master needed him. He should've come here by himself...

"I...I'm sorry." Mickey began to cry, which was unfitting of a King and a Keyblade Master, but more fitting of a trouble-making, naive young apprentice that flooded the Tower. At the moment he didn't care about himself. "It's all my fault...!"

Aqua wasn't sympathized at all, or even accepting her 'former' friend's apology. "**Sorry is not good enough. I reached this shore after endless hours of wandering. Waiting forever for someone to rescue me, but no one came. I lost my Keyblade. Had no means of fighting my way back through the dwellers of darkness. You should've known I was stranded.**"

Mickey said nothing, but he knew that she was right. He left her stranded, and should've gone off to rescue her sooner, but it was fear and caution that held him back, and so many other distractions caused by Xehanort that kept him busy, trying to protect his other friends in the realm of light. Still...it was no excuse. Aqua must've lost Eraqus's Keyblade after their last meeting, and Mickey had followed her light which by now had faded completely the closer he got. Maybe he's just the trigger of the darkness engulfing his friend and now the Aqua he knew...

Was gone. Gone forever.

"**Do you have any idea how lonely this place is? How frightening it is to have no one?**" Aqua hissed, beginning to approach Mickey who could only sorrowfully and regrettfully gaze at her. "**The only feelings I have left in my heart are misery and despair. And now...**"

Suddenly knowing what Aqua had in store for him, Mickey lowered his gaze and closed his eyes, ready to accept his punishment. He failed...he failed to save Aqua, and now Riku-

Wait! Riku!

"**You and Riku...CAN SHARE IT!**" Aqua screeched in pure fury, about to strike at Mickey. To her shock and further anger, Mickey reacted quickly and summoned his Star Seeker Keyblade again.

"STOPZA!" The King chanted, attempting to freeze Aqua in time so that he can at least try and save Riku, who was still in danger and Mickey realized he couldn't leave him behind. He had to do something...to save his friends. To his horror, it didn't work and while the spell seemed to happen, it didn't effect Aqua at all and at the last second he had to block her attack, the two struggling to over-power one another. Or at least Mickey was struggling to push her back as the two Keyblades let out a loud clang that echoed through out the area.

Mickey didn't want to hurt Aqua, but at this point there wasn't much of a choice. He strained with his strength before successfully pushing her back. Aqua jumped back before landing gracefully on the sand, glaring heatedly at him.

"Riku has nothing to do with what happened! It's me you want!" Mickey yelled.

"**And yet he fell into the darkness...because he went astray, just like Terra who chose him to wield the Keyblade! You went for him instead me, because you tried to bring him into the light!**" Aqua snapped.

The King gasped softly in shock. He then remembered; the time when he and Aqua entered the fragment of Destiny Islands before Sora, Donald and Goofy defeated the fake Ansem.

* * *

_Flash-Back:_

_"I visited once, and I met two boys I considered passing the Keyblade_

_on to. But because Terra had already given one of them the power, I didn't." Aqua told Mickey as she thought back of when she first met the two young boys._

_Curious and finding that something linking up into his sudden theory, Mickey asked his friend. "Aqua. What were the boys' names?"_

_Aqua thought about, trying to remember. She then replied when she did, "They were...Sora and Riku."_

* * *

End Flash-Back:

While it still didn't make sense of how Sora was able to wield the Keyblade, now it was clear with Riku. Yet Mickey suddenly realized that Aqua was now coldly blaming everyone because of what was happening to her.

"It wasn't his fault! Xehanort caused more problems!" Mickey protested.

"**You couldn't stop him and had dragged everyone else in? You're a joke, Mickey. Calling yourself a Keyblade Wielder when you couldn't do a single thing! You ignored in finding Terra, Ven's heart is gone...and you BETRAYED ME! No one wanted to find me. I was only useful in fighting the darkness only to be lead here and face the truth.**" The former blue-haired woman sneered.

"Aqua, please!" Mickey pleaded, knowing that this wasn't like his friend to be like this as he began to sense that this wasn't just any darkness corrupting her. This was like...when the fake Ansem had taken over Riku. "There's gotta a way to turn ya back to normal! We can go to the Realm of Light and find the answer! I have an idea where Ven's heart is, and Terra's still out there!"

Still...to be called a joke of a Keyblade Wielder...Mickey felt those words pierced his heart. He never been able to defeat Xehanort in any form. Sora and Riku did...but that didn't mean he betrayed anyone. There still had to be a way to restore Aqua's heart.

Aqua said nothing. Instead she let out an angry shriek which boomed and sending out a shock wave like a powerful gust of wind. Mickey had to stop himself from being blown, using his Keyblade to block most of it, though he struggled. When the wave stopped, he quickly had to defend himself when Aqua nearly sliced him in half, blocking her attacks with his Keyblade that clashed against Riku's that she was currently wielding. The two Keyblade Masters were then forced to fight as Aqua delivered heavy blows to the King who regrettably had to block them.

He jumped back in a safe distance before he leaped out of the way when Aqua sent out an orb of Darkness which missed her target. Mickey forced himself to counter attack by chanting his Pearl Spell of Light, as it flew towards her. Aqua suddenly vanished before it hit her and reappeared standing on the water, much to his shock. She then charged in horrifying speed and Mickey leaped out of the way again before clashing blades with her again, even though he was quickly becoming exhausted.

"**It's your choice, Mickey.**" Aqua hissed darkly after jumping back and stood straight, glaring at the King's eyes with her former blue ones.

"What?" Mickey asked.

Aqua then turned to her left and, flowing her new dark energy into Riku's Keyblade that slowly became to become covered in darkness and for a brief moment Mickey thought the unusual blue eye designs on the hilt glowed in dark blue, suddenly becoming alive and piercing it's gaze into his very soul which terrified him, she pointed the weapon into the distance over the water and a beam of darkness shot out, creating a newly made Corridor of Darkness.

"I-it can't be!" The King gasped, shocked. What kind of power was that?

Before he could ask what was happening, Aqua's voice forced Mickey to gaze at her again as she continued. "**Follow me and we will continue our battle in the realm of light, where you will fall by my hand and abandon Riku to leave him in the same fate as you endured onto me...or save his live and I will wander the Realm of Light, teaching all others that friendship is very weak.**"

Mickey gasped again, horrified beyond belief. If he left without Riku to try and save Aqua, the teenager could be trapped here and suffer the same fate despite the clothes protecting him. But if Mickey stayed behind to save him and take him to safety, Aqua will wander the realm of light and without a doubt destroy every other friendships in the worlds because of her dark beliefs that she had no one left and that she had believed that everyone betrayed her.

"No, please...! Don't do this!" Mickey begged. He then became even more horrified as the sphere that kept Riku trapped became covered in darkness and reformed the Demon Tide Heartless that threatened to destroy everything in it's path. The King felt weak in the legs, torn with this decision as Aqua gazed at him coldly for the last time before she turned and walked onto the water, leaving him and the trapped Riku behind.

"**I thought you would ignore me, Mickey. But should we meet again...I will make you and everyone else know TRUE loneiness, sorrow and darkness.**" Aqua paused in front of the corridor, briefly gazing at Mickey for one last time before entering the portal.

Mickey shed more tears at this, before quickly turning to the Demon Tide which attempted to swallow him up as well. Left with no other choice and not wanting to leave Riku to die, he leaped out of the way to avoid in getting hit before he glared at the monster.

He then made the attack.

* * *

Riku felt like drowning. Drowning in the darkness like he was underwater. He was struggling to breathe. It was suffocating, heavy, crushing, cold, wet and thick. He couldn't breathe or see or even think. Unable to escape, all Riku could do was wait until the darkness claimed him, and send him into his ultimate demise.

Until a voice spoke out far from the distance of darkness.

"_Didn't expect to see you again._" The voice spoke. It was strangely but extremely familiar.

"W-What?" Riku asked, choking at the hold of darkness, but was doing his best to ignore it for now.

"_Why did you even come here?_" The voice asked, with a hint of teasing.

"Because...because someone needs me." He replied weakly, as the realization hit him. He couldn't fade here. Not by a long shot. Riku's friends needed him, and he needed to help save Aqua.

"_...Do you want some help?_" It asked after hesitating a little.

Riku didn't know what to think of the offer. Why did it seem familiar? Where has he heard it before? It sounded...much like his own. But how was that possible? Who could have the same voice as him? What was happening to him? Was he hallucinating? Must be, given he's trapped here and beginning to lose consciousness.

"Wh-who are you?" Riku asked, before his vision dimmed as he was being send deeper and deeper into the darkness, only able to hear the final words being cut off...

"_Me? I'm-_"

* * *

No sooner had Mickey managed to destroy the Demon Tide with much of his strength and light he used to defeat it, the King was leaning forward and using his hand and one knee to stop himself from falling over. He was breathing heavily. His Star Seeker Keyblade had dents and cracks, and he had to switch to his Kingdom Key-D which faired a bit better, but in the end he had to use his power of light.

Managing to catch his breath, Mickey wasted no time in racing over to the fallen form of Riku who was lying on his back after being spat out by the Heartless. The King feared the worst when his friend wouldn't move, but still felt his heart and his chest was rising and falling slowly, so that was a promising sign.

Still, Mickey knew if Riku didn't wake up now...he didn't want to think of losing him.

"R-Riku? Wake up! Wake up, please!" Mickey cried out, shaking him by the chest with his hands to stir him awake.

Slowly but surely, Riku's eyes opened as he groaned and found the very worried Mickey standing over him. The teenager let out a deep breath while his senses returned to him. Despite this, Mickey sighed and smiled in relief, and Riku could see signs of tears forming in his friend's eyes.

"You're okay! Thank goodness!" Mickey nearly sobbed, offering his hand to help his friend up. Riku gently declined as he pushed himself up before running a hand through his hair, which he realized was noticably shorter. How that happened and what had happened ran through Riku's mind. He decided to forget about his unexpected hair-cut and turned to more important matters.

The last thing he remembered was being swallowed up by the Demon Tide, and hearing the familiar voice that was close to his own. Everything else was blank.

"Where did the Heartless go?" He asked, after seeing that the beach was empty once more and he and Mickey were on their own.

"I had to use to power of my light to stop 'em, before they just spit you out." Mickey reported, his heart feeling heavy, knowing that eventually he would have to give out the terrible news of what else happened.

"Thanks." Riku sighed, feeling his head ache as he placed his hand on his forehead. "I owe you."

"Gosh, Riku. You saved me when the ground crumbled, so that makes us even." Mickey pointed out with a smile, before frowning with caution as he advised his friend. "I know ya feel invincible, but we're not. Especially not here."

Heeding Mickey's words, Riku then asked with his own concern. "Are you all right, Mickey?"

"Yep, thanks to the new gear." Mickey replied, tugging his jacket, before sighing while bracing himself to give out the bad news. "But...your Keyblade..."

Riku blinked in confusion, and while noticing that it was missing, he just assumed that it dismissed itself. But when he tried to summon it...it didn't come.

"What? How did-"

"It got stolen." Mickey interrupted, trying his best not to break down, but was becoming harder and harder. Riku turned to his companion as he continued, "...We were too late."

"Too late...? My Keyblade stolen?" Riku muttered, before a terrible thought occurred to him and he gasped in shock and horror. "You don't mean-!?"

There was only one other person here that could've done this and given Mickey's sorrowful and guilty expression and words, Riku couldn't think straight at the moment.

The King sorrowfully nodded slowly. "...It was Aqua. She...she's corrupted by darkness...I was wrong...her heart wasn't strong enough to fight the darkness here..."

"Where is she?" Riku asked softly. If Aqua was corrupted by the darkness, then she could end up being disillusioned with false thoughts of betrayal...just as he went through when Maleficent and 'Ansem' lied to him about Sora abandoning him and Kairi when in reality, he'd been looking for Riku himself and Kairi and not giving up on either of them.

Mickey clutched his fist. "I don't know..." He began, beginning to shake in sorrow and guilt. "All I know is...she used her new power of darkness and your Keyblade to open up a portal and now she's-she's in the realm of light, threatening to destroy every friendship...!"

"Why didn't you stop her?" Riku asked, more harshly than he intended.

"I tried...!" Mickey wept softly, before turning away and took a couple of steps away from Riku before stopping, unable to meet his friend's gaze. "But she tried to destroy you. I couldn't just leave you...I didn't have a choice...! I'm so very sorry. I never shoulda brought ya' here. It's all my fault!"

Riku's heart sank, able to hear the heart-broken and guilt tones in his friend's voice. It reminded him of when Mickey blamed himself after Master Xehanort told them what had happened to Aqua and Ven and another person he still didn't know about. But this...it was distraughting. The King very likely had to fight Aqua who was now corrupted, and seeing her accepting the darkness and coming to terms that she wasn't strong like Sora as Mickey had believed was devastating for him.

The teen lowered his gaze, squeezing his eyes shut. He'd done it again; he failed his friends and it was because of him being needed to be saved that it came to this and Mickey had to make the choice in saving him. Not wanting him to be lost in darkness again. Some Keyblade Master Riku made. At the moment now, he didn't feel like one. Again he couldn't save someone, again he had to be saved himself while someone else was now on a blind rampage. It made the guilt he felt of not noticing Aqua the first time even worse.

A reminder that his gullibility had gotten many into ruined lives. Master Yen Sid was wrong; Riku didn't deserve the Keyblade, let alone the honor of being a Keyblade Master. He was only lucky in being able to save Sora quite a few times, but that was pretty much it.

By then as he came out of his thoughts, Riku looked up again and saw that Mickey had taken a seat on the sand in front of the waves, his arms on his knees and his face buried in his arms, sobbing, his small body quivering as he cried. Seeing Mickey suddenly cry terrified him. Riku had never seen the King like this before. Not even when he nearly broke down in the Realm of Sleep when confronting a restored Xehanort could even come close.

Even though Riku had never been good in cheering anyone up, as that sort of thing was Sora's forte, he couldn't leave Mickey like this. Hesitating, he stood up and approached his weeping friend, kneeling on one knee and awkwardly but slowly rubbed the King's back. Feeling the hesitant but very welcoming and warm touch, Mickey slowly lifted his tear-soaked face and gazed at his friend who held an expression of concern, but with some determination and comfort.

"It's not your fault, Mickey. There has to be a way to bring Aqua back. We just need to go out and find her and bring her back to normal." Riku told him. "It happened before, right?"

Even though Mickey still felt guilty for what happened, he realized that his friend was right. If Riku can be brought back to normal, and even Axel sided with the light, then there must be a chance to restore Aqua to the light. Even if the situation in the realm of light had just gotten worse now, Mickey knew that they couldn't give up.

So, forcing himself to calm down and wiping away his tears, Mickey nodded with growing determination. "You're right. There's gotta be a way to save her."

He stood up before continuing sternly, "Let's head back to Master Yen Sid's Tower and regroup with the others. If we don't hurry, then Xehanort might have Aqua side with him and we're already short on Guardians of Light as it is. The Heartless are stronger here than we expected, and, well, I guess we probably should have powered up our Keyblades before we came here, 'cause my old one is damaged and I couldn't risk in getting the Keyblade of Darkness gettin' wrecked."

"And since Aqua has mine, I need a new one." Riku nodded in agreement, before gazing out at the ocean, thinking about the unusual voice and, as though coming with an answer, he muttered to himself. "It's too bad I couldn't leave that Keyblade for the other me to use."

"Wha?" Mickey asked, utterly confused on what his fellow Master was talking about. He didn't get an answer as Riku stood up, turning to leave. Gazing at the ocean where Aqua had left, the King turned and hurried to follow his friend.

"Riku?" He spoke up, making his friend pause as the King smiled emotionally. "Thanks for cheering me up and givin' out new hope. I haven't been such a good friend lately."

Surprised that he somehow managed to cheer Mickey up, Riku smiled while bending to his friend's height level. "You are a good friend, Mickey. You saved me more times than I can count. What kind of friend would that make me if I wouldn't do the same?"

Completely touched, Mickey hugged his friend who returned it. While their mission to save Aqua from the realm of darkness ended in failure, they had hope to find her in the realm of light and restore her to her original self. Both of them intent on setting things right and this time, they would not fail in bringing Aqua back.

They then walked away to return to the Realm of Light to meet up with the others in hopes of coming up with some sort of plan for the next course of their journey, unaware that the one hope that could help them is in grave danger.

* * *

**A/N: Uh-oh! Anti-Aqua makes her appearance and now begins to cause problems for the Realm of Light! Can our heroes turn her back to normal in time? Only time will tell. The next chapter will have us go somewhere else before we return to Kairi and Lea.**

**Hope this chapter was a bit better than the last one. See you next time!**


	6. Chapter 5: Growing Friendship

**A/N: Sorry. I meant to say in the last chapter that we return to Kairi and Lea in this chapter before we return to Sora and the others which we actually still do in this chapter, but well, you'll see. ^~^;**

**Anyways...here it is.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 5: Growing Friendship.

Back in the Forest of no Time, or at least that's what Merlin had called it since he once mentioned that here time ran faster than in the Realm of Light which when Kairi and Lea would eventually return, it would be like as though time hardly moved at all, even if it could be only like a few weeks or even days. Here it felt like months. The two future Keyblade Wielders stood in front of the training ground which resembled to a nice, cosy village that allowed them to stay and they were free to explore the forest between training.

Kairi had already found that she was becoming more comfortable around her former kidnapper who still felt a bit awkward around her, considering that he still felt guilty for what he did. She could see it in his eyes; the hurt and the guilt, and for a tough guy, his personality was very much different to his days as Axel. While she was still a bit nervous, so far he'd actually been really kind...in his own bit of a obnoxious way, but he wasn't afraid of a challenge.

He just seemed...awkward around girls. Like both Sora and Riku.

Speaking of which, as Kairi was having trouble in summoning her Keyblade by waving her arm out the way how she'd seen Sora and King Mickey do it and how Riku would do it by simply just...materializing it. Back then when facing the Heartless, it seemed easy when she didn't really think about it. But now...when she did think about it, it was hard because nothing she did worked, she caught sight of Lea standing there staring at his hand, having the same problem.

"Are you trying to figure out how to summon the Keyblade?" Kairi asked gently, approaching the red haired man who blinked, somewhat snapped out of his thoughts and turned his gaze to the teenage girl.

"Sort of. Actually thinkin' if the method I did before would work without surprising me this time." Lea admitted.

"Method?" Kairi queried, curiously.

"Yeah." Lea nodded. "Yen Sid told me that it's not only thinking of calling out the Keyblade or whatever, it's about how you let your body and heart do the work for you. If that makes sense."

"Hmm..." Kairi hummed thoughtfully, taking in on what Lea had just said. Let the body do the work as well as thinking. "When I first started using the Keyblade, I don't think I had much thought at all. I was more focused on helping my friends, to reach them and fight off the Heartless. Like...my heart was telling me what to do and my body reacting to that."

Lea looked at her before shrugging. "Maybe it's because you already did the snap of the wrist thing without even realizing it."

"Snap of the wrist?" Kairi looked at him, confused.

"Yeah. At least that's what I think happened when I managed to finally summon it. Still don't have a clue and like everyone else who'd seen me do it, I wasn't even expectin' it to happen. Then I felt this weird feeling in my heart, like some sort of connection, and I did feel somethin' in my arm too." Lea explained.

Somehow it was making some sort of sense, Kairi could feel it. Thinking about it wouldn't do much, but...the heart and the body doing so. Back then, Kairi was more determined to fight and help her friends than actually thinking about just holding the Keyblade. She knew it was also a weapon for survival, but just surviving alone sounded selfish, but without surviving she couldn't help anyone. She knew that deep within her heart, and her body reacted to it.

For Lea, he did it without thinking with his mind but...his heart and body did that.

Maybe if she thought more of what she had to do instead of just wishing for the Keyblade and to the 'Snap of the Wrist' without thinking about that, it might work. Mentally nodding to herself, Kairi turned away from Lea who looked at her curiously. She then focused, not for wanting the Keyblade to come out, but she thought of what her heart was saying, and let her body listen to it. She flicked her wrist in a way Sora, Riku and Mickey would do.

Almost instantly, she felt her heart and arm tingle, and in a flash of light that felt warm, her Keyblade which she hasn't seen in ages suddenly appeared in her hand right before her eyes and she held onto it. Kairi let out a quiet gasp in surprise, before a smile grew into excitement.

"It worked...!" She breathed.

"Whoa!" Lea exclaimed, completely stunned.

"I did it!" Kairi beamed, turning to Lea and said. "Thank you, Lea."

"Huh? Me? What'd I do?" Lea blinked, still baffled at how Kairi managed to summon her Keyblade, and was puzzled that she was thanking him when he didn't do anything.

"It was your advice and how you mentioned yours came to you that helped me." Kairi replied.

Lea actually felt embarrassed. He turned away awkwardly while scratching the back of his head, and he was fairly certain his face was growing hot and turning a shade of red that might actually match his hair.

"I was just...ya' know, tryin' to figure out what Yen Sid said and thinkin' about what I thought. Can't take credit for that." He replied, wishing for his heart and stomach to calm down, since Kairi was giving him a compliment.

Kairi giggled, and even caught sight of Lea's face growing all red which was kind of adorable. She then suggested, "Well then, try thinking about what I did."

"Huh?"

"I can't explain why, but, I combined everything what you and I said and...I think the Keyblade understands our hearts desires and our bodies listening to them. That's when the Keyblade then appears." Kairi told him, adding, "And the 'snap of the wrist'."

Despite that he was still confused on that, Lea thought about it and then realized that she might have a good point. Maybe if he thought more about helping the others in whatever way possible and finding and bringing back his friends, that might actually work. While he knew that it wasn't always the case since Xehanort didn't care of anything or anyone but himself and the stupid X-Blade thing and Kingdom Hearts, Lea was nothing like that cruel old man.

So he mimicked Kairi's movement, doing his best on what his Heart was saying and while it was making him nervous, Lea thought about Roxas; his best friend. He thought about making things up for Kairi and Sora, and to help them and the others to stop the real Organization XIII, and hoping for a better future. Plus his body did the snap of the wrist thing.

In a flash of flames of light, his Keyblade materialized in his hand and for the second time since he first saw it, Lea was caught off-guard.

"See?" Kairi beamed happily.

Lea was too stunned to say anything at first, before he grinned happily and gazed at Kairi, saying. "I guess we both now know how it really works."

The Princess of Heart nodded, and for the next few hours, she and Lea practiced on summoning and desummoning their Keyblades to get the hang of it. After that, they focused on doing practice swings to get the hang of using said weapons. It felt awkward and sluggish as Kairi hadn't used her Keyblade in a while, and Lea was so used to using his Chakrams for so long that he to resist in summoning one of his old weapons out of habit. So instead, he decided in taking up a stance by having his Keyblade over his shoulder, pretending to fight invisible enemies.

Afterwards for next two hours, Kairi and Lea both decided to take a break.

"Phew. Man, the others make it look so easy." Lea breathed after dismissing his Keyblade almost easily.

"I think it's because the King trained under Master Yen Sid and both Sora and Riku grew up in pretend fights with wooden swords." Kairi theoried, while dismissing her Keyblade. "It will take a while for us to get used to this."

The taller redhead nodded in agreement. "Good thing this place lets us take all the time we need." He then sighed, a little sadly as he turned away, muttering more to himself than his fellow trainee. "Just wish Roxas was here to see us."

Kairi caught sight of the growing sad expression, and couldn't help but feel concerned. "...You really miss him, don't you?"

"Uh, I...yeah." Lea, caught off by surprise again, awkwardly sighed. "Sorry. I know that everything I did was completely messed up, and what I did to you and Sora, it was wrong. I really missed Roxas, and I still do. Couldn't even apologize to him for messing up. I wanted to see him so badly, even to at least tell him how sorry I am. Just once. Back then in the Organization just after he was born, poor kid was like a zombie, and I was put in charge of teaching him. When we first met, I took him to that clock tower, where we ate Ice Cream and watched the sunset. Kept on doing that even before he became more like a person."

Lea closed his eyes, feeling his chest tighten and his heart ache for missing his friends so much. "He was the reason why I began to remember what it was like to be human. To have a heart. Day after day, I really got to like him so much that I'd do anything to keep him safe. If I had my way back then, the two of us would've left the Organization already."

"You two really are close." Kairi muttered.

"Yeah." Lea nodded. "Even when he began to realize that he was Sora's nobody and been angry with me for not telling him and I get that, even as a Nobody, I was...scared to think what would happen to him. Already lost a lot when I became a Nobody...I didn't want to lose Roxas too. I knew that the Organization would destroy him if he left, and I'd be the only one who would miss him. Just before he returned to Sora and I was sent to destroy him, he didn't remember me and by the time he did...it was too late. Still, guess I held back since he beaten me in a fight and, it was then I knew that he was more important to me that I decided to ditch the Organization..."

He then scoffed to himself at his words. "Not that it would've made a difference since Xemnas never tolorated traitors. That kind of failure was way above my head that I'd probably ended up dusked or destroyed."

"And since you missed him so much you'd do anything to bring him back...even by using me to turn Sora back into a Heartless again." Kairi realized.

"Y-yeah...I'm sorry." Lea sighed shakily. "It was selfish of me to do that, and really...when I thought about it later, I realized that it wasn't what Roxas would've wanted. I just wish I could've apologized to him...and to her."

"Huh?" Kairi blinked.

"Wait, what? Did I just say...?" Lea blinked as well, realizing that he just blurted out something that made him completely confused. "Why did I think of a girl?"

"...Maybe there's someone out there you don't remember?" Kairi suggested, as she realized that the mysterious 'her' may be whom Lea is trying to remember.

"Well, I know Namine is inside you and...I'm sorry for what I did to you, but at least I have a chance to apologize to you...so...I think you're right." Lea shrugged, agreeing that Kairi's theory made perfect sense.

As a matter of fact, the more he stared at her, the more he began to think of a forgotten girl's face and eyes...there was a resemblence there, and he knew it that was deep in his heart...a missing link. But Lea had no idea what it could be yet. Though he began to realize that whatever happened to her, he felt guilty for hurting her too, like with Roxas. At the same time, he thought about Isa and how their friendship had strained beyond repair and...there was someone else that only the two of them knew. But Lea couldn't reveal that yet.

"Lea?"

"Huh? Oh! Um..." Lea snapped back to reality. He was doing it again; staring at Kairi. "S-Sorry."

Then, deciding that he needed a bit of distraction, Lea then had an idea which made him smile that he knew would make Kairi smile and plus...he was craving for it since he hasn't had it in a long while. The thought of his was kind of making him a bit hungry.

"Hey, let's meet up at that cliff-side later. I'm gonna go ask Merlin somethin'." Lea suggested.

"For what?" Kairi asked, curiously.

"It's a surprise. Got it memorized?" Lea grinned.

Even though she tried to figure out what Lea was thinking, Kairi nodded with a warm smile. "Okay. See you later then."

With that, she decided to head there right away and after waving Lea a goodbye, Kairi set off into the woods, now knowing that she can trust Lea. He'd been nothing but compassionate and kind and friendly. Plus, the way how he talked about his friendship with Roxas made her realize that it was like her closeness with Sora and Riku.

It was then that Kairi decided that she would help Sora, because she knew, he would want to help his Nobody to become whole again without turning into a Heartless, and given that Namine was inside her, Kairi also decided that she wanted to do the exact same thing. None of them knew how yet, but they will try. She will not give up.

Once he knew that Kairi was out of earsdrop, Lea nodded to himself. "Okay...Now, to see if Merlin is generous enough to buy us Ice Cream."

* * *

Half an hour later, Kairi had arrived in the same spot where she first met Lea again when she first arrived, sitting on a log that had a perfect view of the forest below, the sun shining in a beautiful way. The breeze was nice and comforting, and the area was amazing. It wasn't exactly the beach back at home, but it was still nice. She just wished Sora was here to see it.

Then, upon realizing she'd like a conversation with him, Kairi pulled out a notepad paper, and a pencil before she began to write.

"_Dear, Sora._

_I'm sorry I left without saying good-bye. Did Master Yen Sid tell you? I'm training to become a keyblade wielder like you. _

_That's right. No more waiting for you to come back from your adventures. I want to get there and do my part to help. _

_Merlin had used his magic to bring us to a place where time doesn't matter. _

_We can take as long as we need to complete our training. He's an amazing wizard. _

_Oh, and by "us." I mean me and Lea. He's really sorry for all the trouble he caused. I told him it's fine, but he won't stop apologizing. I'll admit I was a little afraid of him at first, but I've gotten to know him better. _

_All he ever wanted was to help his friend. Honestly, it's hard not to like him. _

_Every now and then, I catch him staring at me. When I asked what's wrong, he says, "I'm not sure. I think I'm forgetting something. Don't know what." _

_Sora, I think it may have something to do with you, because there's a girl he mentioned, but he can't remember who she is yet. She has to be connected to you somehow. Your journey is all about helping other people; some that you've never met before, and some like Lea that you have. _

_They're all counting on you. It won't be easy, but I hope you'll remain the happy and cheerful Sora I know. _

_There's no heart your smile can't reach."_

Kairi smiled as she paused her writing, until she heard foot steps and then looked up to see Lea standing there. That was quick. He must've already done what he needed to ask Merlin of, and now he was staring at her again with a thoughtful expression.

"What it is?" She asked.

"Uh...Nothin'. Sorry." Lea awkwardly. Ugh, he's done it again. He had to stop doing it or else he'd end up creeping Kairi out and Lea didn't want that. What was wrong with him?

"Lea..." Kairi began.

"What? I am." Lea replied, scratching his head again before taking a seat on a rock on the opposite of Kairi. He then noticed what was in her hand and, seeing how she was moving it, he couldn't help but ask. "You writin' a letter?"

"Yup." Kairi nodded.

"To Sora, right?" He guessed.

Kairi paused, thinking about before answering. "Hmmm...well, it is a letter to Sora, I won't send it. It's more for me, really."

"...You're writing a letter to Sora when it's really for you? Ya' know, you can ask Merlin to send it to him if you want." Lea blinked, not sure what to say apart from what he suggested.

"It's okay. It's just...I just like to talk to Sora, even if it's on paper. It makes me feel like he's actually here when we're far apart. No matter we are, we're always with each other." Kairi explained, smiling as she held the notepad close to her, hugging it.

"Ah, right. I getcha." Lea nodded his understanding. It was no surprise on how close Sora and Kairi were, and he had a feeling it was more than just friendship. But as much as he wanted to tease her a bit, he decided to take it slow and wait until they're fully comfortable. He then remembered something.

"Oh! Almost forgot." Lea said, pulling out two Sea-Salt Ice Cream bars protected in wrapping, holding them out to show Kairi. "Ta-da!"

"Ice Cream? Really?" Kairi asked, surprised and excitedly.

"Yeah. I asked Merlin to pick these up. Ya' know, we did manage to summon our Keyblades and started practicing with them. Gotta celebrate, so, here." Lea smiled, handing her one of the bars which she took generously.

"Thank you, Lea. You're sweet." Kairi replied, smiling.

"Nah..." Lea smiled. Okay, he was a nice guy but, for some reason he wouldn't consider himself to be sweet. He still had a lot to atone for. At the same time, he was relieved that Kairi was starting to be more comfortable around him and...he then realized that this wasn't the first time someone said that he was sweet. He heard it from someone before...another girl...could it be the one that he couldn't remember?

Kairi had never tried Sea Salt Ice Cream before, but she has heard of it. She was about to take a bite when she saw Lea staring at her again, prompting her to ask. "What?"

'_Ugh, I'm doing it again._' Lea thought to himself as he awkwardly replied. "N-nothing. I just..."

"...You're trying to remember the girl you forgot?" Kairi guessed, a little worried for him.

"Well, I...uh..." Lea began, before sighing as he looked away from her and decided to be honest. "Yeah...pretty much."

Seeing how it was hurting him, Kairi decided to gently change the subject and try and cheer him up. "So, since we can use our Keyblades, tomorrow we'll be practicing on fake targets, and then after that, it's you and me in the ring." She said, feeling nervous but also excited. "You ready?"

"'Course I am." Lea answered. He was ready. He'd been ready since the beginning, but he knew that had to fully be ready to use his Keyblade now. On the other hand, though, he didn't want to hurt Kairi. So he had to be careful.

As though reading his thoughts, Kairi told him since she wanted to make herself stronger. "Don't hold back, Lea. Promise?"

Lea turned back to answer as the sun had shone brightly for a moment, but when he did, his eyes widened as suddenly his vision blurred, giving him some kind of memory mixed in on what Kairi just said. For a moment there, she was gone. In her place was...another girl...more clear than he ever thought before; the face and the eyes were the same, though younger, around when Kairi had been fourteen, and her hair...it was black. She was also wearing a black coat much like his own. She was gazing at him with sadness, and then suddenly Kairi's words rang in his mind...a memory of when he was Axel...

_"Don't hold back, Axel. Promise?" The girl pleaded, in a trembling voice of resignation, guilt and sorrow._

He felt himself grow all cold, freezing up and unable to move. His heart hammered out of control and it was terrifying him. Lea felt something swell up inside him as the image of the girl faded and he returned to reality, with Kairi eating her ice cream. He unconsciously dropped his own, feeling the moisture of tears in his eyes which suddenly fell free and then he began to softly weep over the...devastating loss that he couldn't understand or remember. Something horrible had happened to the girl...and Lea suddenly realized it was his own fault which made him feel even worse.

Realizing what was happening, Lea quickly tried to calm down while wiping away his tears, sniffling. Lately his emotions were getting to him, and he had no idea why. Maybe it was because since it was eleven years since the lost his heart that he had no emotions until he met Roxas, and that he was still adjusting into being a human again.

Kairi had been of the salty but sweet taste of the Ice Cream and decided that she liked it, she looked up and gasped softly in worry when she saw that Lea was...wiping away tears and he was sobbing despite that he was trying to force himself to calm down. Her heart froze up in worry and great concern.

"Are you okay? Lea!" Kairi instantly stood and approached him, terrified as she thought for a moment that something horrible happened to him.

"Yeah...Sorry..." Lea sniffled, looking away as he tried to avoid her look. It just figured that Kairi had caught him like this and it was embarrassing. He hasn't been like this in years, and he had to admit to himself-he couldn't admit to anyone else-it was scaring him too.

"You're crying. What's wrong?" Kairi pointed out, not sure if she could help, but she wanted to.

Finally feeling himself calming down and his tears drying up, Lea sniffled one more time before lying a bit, too embarrassed to admit that Kairi was right. "I'm fine. Just somethin' in my eyes."

Kairi knew he was lying, but she also knew that whatever made him upset had gotten to him. Was it something that she had said? She couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for that. She could only mutter his name in concern, but he just shrugged before standing up.

He couldn't be around here right now. Lea needed a bit of time alone, otherwise he'd go into a much bigger breakdown than he really wanted. "I'm...gonna head back. Sorry."

"Okay..." Kairi replied, sensing that her fellow trainee needed some time alone. However, she knew that she had to tell him that she forgives him, and told him. "But, stop apologizing, okay?"

Even though he knew that Kairi had long forgiven him now, Lea couldn't help it. It wasn't until he realized that for some reason it felt odd now for her to call him by his birthname, and while he still wanted everyone to remember him he suddenly realized that those who met him as a Nobody remembered him by that and while it still brought up uncomfortable memories, he didn't want to remember those memories...he wanted to remember the good memories when he was Axel; his time with Roxas and...that girl for example. Sora had forgiven him, Mickey had trusted him despite that they hadn't fully met, and even Goofy forgiven him and trusted him. Riku too.

Lea wasn't sure about Donald yet, but eventually the magican would come around. Maybe...just maybe, everyone could remember him as Lea and Axel, and now he knew...he didn't want anyone to forget his Nobody either. Though they weren't like Sora and Roxas or Kairi and Namine, Lea still felt... separated and he couldn't get why. It had been annoying to be called Axel when he first came back...maybe it was because he wanted to forget the bad things he did...but he knew that he couldn't, and as Axel, he had done a few good things, and he had died noblely when he sacrificed himself to save Sora and his friends, and had apologized to him for what he did to Kairi.

The redhead then decided that being called both Lea and Axel wasn't so bad after all. It made him...even more whole now.

"Fine. On one condition." Lea replied.

"What?" Kairi blinked.

Silent for a moment, and telling himself, or maybe it was Axel telling him, Lea wasn't certain yet, that he should go for it, he requested her. "You can call me Axel from now on. Got it memorized?"

Like both times as a human and as a Nobody, Lea tapped the side of his head.

Not having expected such an easy condition, Kairi thought about it before realizing that Lea didn't mind being called by his Nobody, and she had to admit she was still trying to get used to him. Seeing how now that the only way for him to accept her forgiveness, she nodded.

"Okay, Axel." Kairi replied easily, smiling.

Lea smiled softly in return, before waving a goodbye to her and then walked off into the woods to head back to their temporary sleeping quarters. As he did, he took a bit of a scenic route and went deeper into the forest, a bit lost in this thoughts. He was admittedly surprised that he accepted his Nobody's name as his second one, like a middle name or something, easily. Maybe it's because of the mysterious girl that he began to remember.

'_I really do know her. It's almost like...she was there with me and Roxas. Who is she? Why can't I remember even her name? Why did I forget her in the first place? Something must've happened..._' Lea thought to himself as he walked, almost mindlessly.

Her words...it was as though Kairi was the trigger of it. Lea had a feeling it was like parting words...almost like a tearful goodbye. He could hear the guilt and sorrow in the girl's voice. It hurt even more so than when he nearly forgotten Ventus until Roxas had shown up. Lea had no idea how it was possible for Roxas to look more like a kid he hasn't seen in twelve years rather than Sora, but...it was then that he didn't want to forget Ventus again, but he never told Roxas that, otherwise it would've complicated things.

Maybe Sora and Ventus met around the same year before the latter ended up in a coma, Lea wasn't sure but it did make a bit of sense. But with the girl with the black hair...it was like his memories of her were stripped away painfully and now it was beginning to come back to him, in the most painful way. Frustrated and upset that he wouldn't get those answers now, Lea stopped and leaned against a tree that was closest as he suddenly found himself standing on the shores of a rather beautiful river, but his thoughts overtook the sight.

"Roxas...do you remember her? Do you know who she is?" Lea whispered, as though his best friend could hear him even though he knew that Roxas couldn't. He was still inside Sora who was probably being sent to his next adventure if he wasn't out there already. The redhead placed a hand to where his heart was and clutched his fist. He wished he knew. More than anything.

* * *

Kairi watched Lea go, and her smile faded to what of a worried frown. His ice cream was left on the ground, uneaten and slowly melting in the clover leaves and flowers. Something must've happened that caused him to cry, and she wasn't sure what it was. She wished there was something she could do to help. Maybe it was to do with the girl Lea had trouble remembering.

'_Maybe like Namine, the girl looks just like me._' Kairi thought to herself. Maybe the girl said something similar to what she said, and Kairi felt even more guilty for it.

"I hadn't met to hurt you, Axel." Kairi muttered, even though she knew that the red haired man couldn't hear her at the moment. She returned to her seat and gazed at the view. She would have to apologize to him later. More than anything, she was worried about him.

As she finished off her ice cream, Kairi was about to decide to call it a day herself when suddenly she felt a massive pulse within her heart that made her gasp. She dropped the ice cream stick and clutched her chest when everything around her darkened, and she was soon finding herself standing in...well, she wasn't sure where she suddenly ended up. But it was an empty area with sparkles of light like stars. But there were seven that shone brighter than the rest.

And seven more that were dim but growing brighter while the first six were becoming slightly duller. The other seventh... it was different. Kairi knew it. She then gasped as it somehow took shape of a figure she knew all too well...but it was becoming slowly duller and rather than being covered in darkness...it was becoming...stonelike.

Kairi blinked as she reached out, only to find herself back in reality, in her original position. What had happened there? Was this place suddenly in trouble? No...it wasn't that. Kairi felt her heart tingle randomly, and the light in her heart...the light that made her one of the seven Princesses...was somehow trying to speak to her. What was happening?

Fourteen lights, seven she knew, and seven she didn't, and her own light...

"Sora...and the Princesses..." Kairi muttered to herself in realization. Whatever was happening, she had a feeling that something was wrong. Which meant that, she, the Princesses of Heart, Sora, and the other seven lights were in danger...

Question is...what was going on? And why did Kairi feel it? Whatever it was, Sora was in danger...and she had to find a way to protect him once her training was complete.

Kairi had to protect Sora. She can't lose him.

* * *

After their unexpected big adventure at Olympus, Sora, Donald and Goofy returned to the Mysterious Tower to report to Master Yen Sid of what happened and what they learned...and their lack of progress of having Sora regain his lost power, in which the powerful sorcerer was feeling the same disappointment the trio felt.

"I see. You could not regain your strength." Yen Sid mused while stroking his beard once more.

"Aw, it's no biggie. I still learned a lot." Sora shrugged despite that he was still a bit bothered by it, but he wasn't going to let it get to him.

Yen Sid gazed at him, serious as ever and despite that he had confidence in the boy's optisim, he had to make the point very clear. "Regardless, Sora. You will still need to use the power to save the hearts of others."

Sora couldn't help but let out a soft sigh of disappointment. He knew more than anyone else that the Power of Waking was what he needed to most if he wanted to save those that were lost, yet despite them being connected to his heart, he couldn't even rescue one connected to him since he knew Riku and Mickey would be the ones to save Aqua. How was he supposed to make himself useful and keep to his promise if he couldn't even gain the power to do so?

"It can't be gone forever. Maybe somethin' will trigger it real soon!" Goofy pointed out.

"I know! How 'bout a bonk on the head?" Donald suggested, somewhat teasingly.

"Hey!" The teenage wielder pouted.

To Sora's surprise, Yen Sid was in a bit of an agreement with the magician. "Perhaps it could be as simple as that."

'_What? Seriously?_' Sora thought incredulously. "You think so too?" He asked aloud.

"Whenever you are in need, magic happens. That is perhaps your greatest strength, Sora." Yen Sid said thoughtfully.

"You make it sound like an accident." Sora grumbled while doing his best to ignore Donald and Goofy chuckling in amusement.

"However," Yen Sid began, catching the attention of the trio once again. "There is an alternative that may be a bit more simple than regaining the Power of Waking. But like that kind of power, it is difficult to locate, almost impossible in fact."

"Really? What?" Sora asked, now fully curious. Was there another way to save those lost that like the Power of Waking required work in being able to locate? Another new power maybe? Donald and Goofy were both equally curious as the boy beside both of them.

Before the powerful sorcerer could answer, the chamber's door began to open which made the four of them to look and see who it was; to Yen Sid's expection and the trio's surprise, it was Mickey, followed by Riku who closed the door behind him, having just returned from the Realm of Darkness. What Yen Sid didn't see as he had hoped...was Aqua since she was still absent, which almost instantly told him that things hadn't worked out for the two either.

"We're back, Master." Mickey greeted his mentor, after he and Riku agreed to meet with Yen Sid almost instantly when they returned to the Realm of Light.

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed, eying his best friend's and the King's new clothes. When did they get them? Must've been before Sora himself gotten back from the Realm of Sleep. The new outfits looked so cool that it almost immediately made him want a new cool outfit himself.

"Oh, wow!" Mickey gapped in delighted surprise, seeing Sora, Donald and Goofy here already. "You guys are all here!"

Riku held a bit of a surprised expression as well.

"We were here before, but you guys didn't wait-" Sora began, only to be pushed aside by Donald and Goofy who raced over to meet heir King, making the teenager stumble. "W-whoa!"

"Your majesty!" Donald exclaimed happily as he and Goofy embraced Mickey warmly.

"Heya, fellas!" Mickey chuckled as he returned the hugs. "What were you three up to?"

"We were visitin-" Sora tried to answer as he regained his bearings and approached the group, only for both Donald and Goofy to unceremoniously shove him back which made him fall onto the floor since they were more eager to have this rare oppotunity with their King and childhood best friend.

"We went to Olympus to visit Hercules!" Donald answered excitedly.

"And saw our other old friend Cloud while tryin' to figure out how to get Sora's lost powers back!" Goofy added brightly.

Sora in the meantime, groaned before pushing himself up and grumbled in annoyance while still on the floor. "Can I say something please?"

Riku just chuckled while he watched his best friend stand up and both Donald and Goofy continued to ignore Sora.

"But it was a big disappointment." Donald whispered to Mickey, though not very discreetly.

"Aw, that's a real shame." Mickey replied with genuine sympathy, feeling sorry for Sora. He then sighed, as his heart felt heavy since he and Riku knew that they had to break the even worse news. "But, honestly..."

"We didn't fare much better. If anything, the situation's gotten worse." Riku finished for the king after the latter trailed off.

"Did ya find out where Aqua is?" Goofy asked, concerned.

"What happened?" Donald asked.

"Whaddya mean 'the situations gotten worse'?" Sora added as he joined with the others, immediately sharing the concern. If it was as bad as he began to think, his heart began to sink terribly...was Aqua...?

Mickey tried to swallow the guilt that began to linger back to the surface, knowing that it would give everyone disheartening shock and dismay.

"W-well, we did find Aqua at least...the thing is...she fell into the deepest abyss which gotten to her heart already and..." Mickey shuddered a bit before forcing himself to continue while Riku was about to speak, but the king gave him a sad expression which made him silent before turning back to the others. "...Now Aqua's been corrupted into the darkness, and she took Riku's Keyblade and somehow managed to open up a Corridor of Darkness before escaping through it...somewhere here in the Realm of Light."

"WHAAAAAT!?" Sora, Donald and Goofy exclaimed in horrified unison. Even Yen Sid's eyes were widened in pure shock and horror by the news. Not only Aqua had been corrupted, but...she somehow stole Riku's Keyblade and escaped to here in the Realm of Light!?

"No way! How did that happen?" Sora asked, worriedly. Something suddenly surged within his heart...a terrible ache that made him...want to yell and scream and deny and...almost like someone within him was taking over, but he couldn't figure out how it was. None the less, he was devastated to hear that Aqua was now in the similar position Riku had been...if not worse.

Mickey and Riku shared a glance before turning back to their friends and the Sorcerer, recounting on what had happened while they were in the realm of darkness, with Riku having been passed out when the Heartless captured him, so Mickey had to do the rest which included the difficult choice to save his life while letting Aqua loose, and on top of that, Aqua no longer had Eraqus's Keyblade which made things worse which left Riku Keyblade-less.

'_And I thought we had no luck in Olympus._' Sora thought somberly after the two finished, feeling sorry for both his best friend and the King. He knew it was utterly devastating. It reminded of when the fake Ansem possessed Riku and how his friend was tricked into thinking Sora had betrayed him and Kairi.

"I had thought something was amiss the moment before Sora, Donald and Goofy had returned." Yen Sid spoke up with a deep frown. "I sensed a glimmer of light but it was greatly overshadowed by a powerful force of darkness, one that is similar to Master Xehanort's."

This caused the five of them to turn to him in confusion and worry, and in both Mickey and Riku's case, guilt.

"Ya' mean Xehanort might had somethin' to do with it?" Mickey queried, feeling even more horror surge up. If it wasn't just the realm of darkness getting to Aqua, then there might still be hope. But then...how did Xehanort know that she was in there?

"Given she has lasted twelve years in the realm of darkness, her heart would have still kept her safe as long as she believed in her friends. Even without the garments, her heart is much like Sora's." Yen Sid explained.

"I'm sorry, Master. We tried." Mickey sighed.

"Neither you or Riku are at fault, Mickey." Yen Sid told him softly, shaking his head slightly. "You have done your best."

The King could only smile a little in his gratitude.

"But why would Xehanort get to Aqua?" Donald asked as he fold his arms in worry.

"I thought he would've left her alone in the realm of darkness." Goofy added in agreement.

Sora thought about it and knew that they were right. It didn't make any sense at all and considering how Xehanort never bothered in getting to Aqua before and just left her in the realm of darkness. Plus, if he wanted to use her, he would've gotten her out and corrupted her heart a long time ago. And again, how did he know she was there in the first place and why corrupt her now and then still leave her there instead of making her his vessel?

He then realized that it didn't matter; Aqua was out there, corrupted in darkness and now an a blind rampage without anyone telling her what to do, while Organization XIII, Maleficent and Pete were causing problems of their own. Sora knew there and then that there was only one thing to do.

"Well, whatever happened, we gotta figure out how to turn her back to normal!" Sora declared with determination, which surprised his friends who turned to face him. "Riku was corrupted too but he turned back to normal. So, there's gotta a way to save Aqua's heart!"

"You're right, Sora." Mickey immediately agreed, since it was same thing he said to Riku before they came back. "We can't give up on her now. She's out there somewhere, and we're gonna find her and bring her back to the light!"

"Yeah!" Sora nodded, grinning.

"To do that," Riku spoke up as he knew where this was going. "We need to find someone close to her to help her return to the light."

This unfortunately made Mickey sad once more as he sighed, pointing out. "Well, it's not me since the darkness is makin' her think I never cared about her. Ven's still hidden and she's the only one who knows where he is, and no one's seen Terra in ages. Aqua's the last one to have disappeared until now."

"So, she's bound to be the key to all three..." Riku sighed, as he and the others then realized, to their dismay and disappointment that the King was right.

"Yes, and their teacher, Master Eraqus, would've been another possibility had Xehanort not mercilessly struck him down..." Yen Sid agreed in a grave tone, before saying as his tone became serious with a hint of hope. "However, I believe the alternative may be our last hope."

"The one that could save hearts like the Power of Waking?" Sora quickly perked up as this reminded him and Donald and Goofy that Yen Sid didn't get the chance to explain since Mickey and Riku had inadvertly interrupted when they came back.

"There's an alternative?" Mickey asked, now he and Riku curious themselves.

"Correct." Yen Sid nodded. "There is a special, ancient Key that is most impossible to find; the Key to Return Hearts. In Legend, it is a Keyblade not acquired to fight, but in the right hands of those with hearts of light it has the power to restore lost, sleeping or corrupted hearts. However, should it be in the hands of one with a heart of darkness..."

"It does the opposite and corrupts hearts full of light." Mickey finished as he quickly understood what his mentor was saying and frowned deeply. Riku sighed while Sora grunted and Donald and Goofy shared a worried glance, since all give of them knew that if Master Yen Sid knew of this legend, so did Xehanort and that latter part was not a good thing.

"Indeed." The Sorcerer confirmed.

"So if we find this Keyblade first before Organization XIII does, we can use it to turn Aqua back to normal and save everyone else!" Sora surmised, perking up at this renewed hope with renewed resolve. Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement with the same expressions and feelings he had.

"Which is exactly what we must do. However, finding the Key to Return Hearts will not be easy. In order to learn of it's whereabouts, there are seven pieces of light that must be found. They will show us the Keyblade's resting place." Yen Sid nodded.

Suddenly knowing what to do now even though he had no clue where to find these seven pieces, Sora was determined to find it before Organization XIII did in order to save Aqua as well as awaken Ventus and locate Terra. Maybe this Key to Return Hearts can bring Roxas back...Okay so that was a bit of a hopeful thinking, but hey, whatever worked. Sora wasn't going to give up, and suddenly that strange feeling inside his heart surged again, this time with a similar expression of hope and determination, but it was agreeing with him and he agreed to it.

"Okay. We'll find these pieces of light and the Keyblade!" Sora declared, ready for action. Finally, they were getting somewhere and while Sora still may not have the Power of Waking, finding the seven pieces of light and the Key to Return Hearts had to be a bit easier than regaining the power he failed to get in the Mark of Mastery exam. He knew it wouldn't be easy in general, but still a bit easier.

"I had expected you to say that, Sora. It is exactly what you, Donald and Goofy will do. Search as many worlds as you can to locate these pieces of light. It will not be a simple task, but I expect the three you will find them and the Key to Return Hearts." Yen Sid agreed, since it was going to be Sora's next assignment. The trio nodded in agreement.

He then turned to the other Keyblade Wielders and told them. "Mickey and Riku, you will both locate Aqua and see if you can locate her destinations. It will not be easy to hold her in her place until we retrieve the Key to Return Hearts, but with your hearts, you should be able to find her in any worlds she can be."

"Good plan, Master." Mickey agreed, before remembering what else needed to be done and added while stepping closer to his master's desk. "But first, since we both got hit hard in the Realm of Darkness, Riku's Keyblade now with Aqua, and my old Keyblade is badly damaged and the Keyblade I got two years ago had to be saved since it's a way to enter and leave that place, we're gonna need replacements before we can continue."

Yen Sid nodded in his understanding. "In that case, rendezvous with Kairi and Lea. As you are already aware, they are continuing their training under the tutelage of the wizard Merlin. Furthermore, I would like you to deliver these for me."

As soon as he finished, he waved his hand as two rather very familiar suitcases appeared on the desk; the larger one was red and the smaller-ish one was pink.

"Oh! Are they...?" Mickey asked as he immediately recongized the pattern of the luggage.

"Yes." The Sorcerer confirmed. "They are the same as the ones I gave you. Special vestments to shield Lea and Kairi from the darkness." He gazed at both the King and Riku.

As the two picked up the suitcases, Sora couldn't help but make his disappointment known as he grumbled, feeling a bit jealous. "Aw, no fair! What about my outfit, Master?"

"Sora! Don't bug him like that!" Donald quickly chastised.

"Settle down. I have new clothes for you as well, Sora. A gift from the three good faries." Yen Sid spoke up to calm the two down, and with a wave of his hand, another suitcase appeared, much to Sora's delight.

"Yes! I knew you'd come through for me! Thanks!" Sora cheered excitedly, wasting no time in rushing over to the desk to claim the suitcase.

"These are no ordinary garments, Sora. Like before, they have special powers so it took extra time to prepare them. In addition, there is another gift from Chip and Dale inside." Yen Sid told him wisely.

"Oh, cool!" Sora grinned, more than eager to see what was inside with his new clothes.

"Happy now?" Riku asked with a knowing smirk since he knew it wouldn't be long before Sora gotten the same thing he, Mickey, Kairi and Lea got.

"Yep!" Sora nodded, slinging his suitcase over his shoulder.

"One last word." Yen Sid continued. "If you sense the power of the seven pieces of light, use your Keyblade to unlock their resting places. It may help you to locate the resting place of the Key to Return Hearts."

While Sora didn't know how to sense such powerful lights of the seven pieces, he still took up the advise and nodded.

"Gosh, finding the Key to Return Hearts is an important task. But I'm sure you fellas will find it." Mickey said, encouragingly. He wasn't sure if he was familiar with the legend or not, but since it was very powerful and dangerous if in the wrong hands, he figured that it was similar to the Keyblade War.

"Hey, wait! Don't forget about me!" A small but spritely voice called out, and when the group looked, to their excitement Jiminy hopped onto the desk and approached the trio who smiled happily.

"Jiminy!" Sora, Donald and Goofy exclaimed. It's been ages since the last time they traveled together with the cricket, so it was great to see their old friend and book-keeper again.

"Every journey worth goin' on needs a cricket to keep track, so you can't leave me behind!" Jiminy smiled happily as he tipped his hat to his old companions.

Goofy chuckled happily. "Ay-hyuck! The whole team's together again!"

Sora and Donald both smiled and nodded happily while Mickey laughed and Riku just smiled. So once Jiminy was there, the group all stood in attention as they were ready to leave for their new adventures and quests.

"You fellas be careful, and good luck in findin' that Key!" Mickey farewelled to the quartet.

"Right, and same to you guys in finding Aqua." Sora encouraged.

Riku silently nodded before he and Mickey bowed to Yen Sid and then began to leave. But before Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy could do the same, the sorcerer gestured them to come closer. They did so and had to strain on what he had to say for the last time. It was something that they shared amongst themselves and now confirmed Goofy's supicions.

"May your heart be your guiding key."

Once they heard it from Yen Sid, Sora, Donald and Goofy huddled together with grins, now fully accepting the saying which worked out for them that it had at least led them to Olympus.

"Told ya." Goofy whispered to his friends who smirked.

With that, they all left the room which where Sora would first get changed in one of the guest rooms into his new clothes, and then he would once again journey with Donald, Goofy and Jiminy on a new quest to find the legendary Key to Return Hearts, while both Riku and Mickey restarted their quest to find Aqua, this time in the Realm of Light and hoping to stop her from hurting others as well as doing their best to keep whatever light she had left in her heart until Sora gained the Keyblade to return her to normal.

Of course, the six of them, and even Kairi and Lea in their training grounds were all unaware that their adventures going to be more dangerous than they thought and while they would possibly reunite with more old friends and make new ones, old and new enemies were also around the corner.

* * *

**A/N: Thus begins Sora's journey to find the Key to Return Hearts, and the beginning of Kairi and Lea's new friendship! The road will not be easy for either of them or Donald, Goofy, Riku, Mickey and Jiminy.**

**I'll try to update this again as soon as possible, but the rest of the week will be rather busy and I'm not sure when I'll update this story, but I will do it, so don't worry!**

**Until then, see you in the next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 6: More Hearts within Sora

**A/N: Sorry. Sorry it took a while to post another chapter. Got side-tracked with usual life and other crazy things that needed to be sorted out. But now I managed to find time to continue with this story.**

**Oh, and not only the first chapter of the KH3 Manga's been released online(Well, Prologue or "Chapter 0" chapter at least), but the DLC has been announced with a "Limit Episode" and "Secret Episode" being added, along with a temporary name "ReMIND" confirmed. No release date yet, though, but we'll find out hopefully at either this year's E3 event or more likely this year's TGS. Anyway, let's continue on, so happy reading!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 6: More Hearts within Sora.

It wasn't long before the four old companions once again boarded the Gummiship and were sailing through the space across worlds to begin their new journey, which is the find seven Pieces of Light in order to find the ancient Keyblade that is said to restore lost, sleeping or corrupted hearts; the Key to Return Hearts which, like the Power of Waking, is much needed since it's plainly obvious that Sora still hasn't regained his lost strength and since none of them had any idea how to get it back, the legendary Keyblade is Sora's last hope in order to save those lost or corrupted.

Sora was now wearing his new vestment which was a cross between his old clothes he wore before returning to the Tower and after Hades was defeated, and ones that he wore in the Realm of Sleep which Organization XIII had put him into in order to try and failing to make him Xehanort's final vessel. Thankfully there was no sigil, and the other difference is that he now wore material guanlets instead of fingerless gloves. Other than that, his clothes were black and red which looked pretty good on him and he even had a bit of time to admire his new look for a minute before departing.

Now he once again took up the pilot's seat, one leg across the other, and his hands behind his head as he thought hard on where to go next to begin their search.

So far...he hadn't got a clue yet.

"Okay, where to?" Donald spoke up.

"Ummmmmmm..." Sora mumured, trying to think hard. He knew what to do, but hasn't figured out which world to go to or if any new worlds out there since there were still so many unexplored.

And as usual, Donald was too impatient.

"Oh, come on. Would you get serious?" The magician grumbled, hating the fact that the teenager wouldn't think straight or be serious at all most of the times.

Sora rolled his eyes as he pointed out, "Gimme a break, okay? I told you. These things take time."

"Gawrsh, is it me or is this turning into a routine?" Goofy thought, feeling a flash of deja vu.

Before any of them could respond to that, all of the sudden they all heard a very unusual sound of a ringing noise. This confused the group as they tried to look for the source of it the noise until Jiminy tracked it down...right next to him as he stood on the arm rest of Sora's chair.

"It's comin' from you, Sora!" He pointed.

Blinking in confusion on why the noise was coming from him, Sora searched himself until he found the source, reaching into his right pockets and pulled out...a small square like object with a crown shaped design on the top, with a touch-screen that had a picture of a phone ringing that continued on.

"What's this?" Sora asked in confusion, never having seen anything like it before.

"I don't know, just stop it!" Donald grumbled as he and Goofy approached him.

"But...I don't know how." Sora pointed out, shaking it before slowly guessing, "Maybe...this?"

He hesitately touched the green button which ceased the sound, and the picture vanished, revealing another screen of...Dale in the Disney Castle Library?

"_Hurray! He picked up._" Dale cheered happily, before looking over to his left, calling out. "_Hey, Chipper! I finall got him! Hurry up!_"

"Huh? Dale?" Sora blinked, confused on why he was seeing one of the chipmunks on the screen like a computer.

"_Well! It's about time._" Chip suddenly appeared as he approached over, giving Sora a bit of annoyance glare and when Sora acknowleged him in confusion, the black-nosed Chipmunk sighed.

"_Ya gotta answer the phone, Sora, or we can't give ya updates. We got lots and lots of important stuff we want to tell ya!_" Dale explained.

"_That's why we asked Master Yen Sid to make sure ya got this gummiphone we made ya. So we'd be able to stay in touch with you at all times._" Chip added.

"_And it takes pictures._" Dale added.

Jiminy, apparently having known as well, smiled as he hopped onto Sora's shoulder before explaining, "I see it's finally finished. With this gummiphone, we can talk to each other across worlds. In fact, I might even try writing my journal on it."

This made Sora smile as he thought it was amazing. So this device can allow him and anyone else who have these things to talk to each other whenver they wanted, even on missions or just to catch up? The very thought of having the chance to talk to all of his friends even apart was the best idea ever. Well, maybe not everyone in the worlds due to the world order, but hey, he can now at least catch up with Riku, Kairi, the King, Donald and Goofy and even Axel.

"Wow! That's pretty handy, guys." Sora praised, before asking the two chipmunks. "So, what's so important?"

"_It's this! Back when you and Riku quested through the Sleeping Worlds, Riku recovered some secret research data that Ansem the Wise hid inside you._" Chip explained.

"Yeah, it's Ansem's Code!" Dale added.

"We've been workin' our tails off tryin' to crack it and see what is says." Chip continued.

All of the sudden, the screen flashed and the image of the two were gone. In their place was familiar girl with black hair standing in a familiar room with a great big grin on her face. Revealing to be none other than Yuffie who was now wearing a black bandana, similar to the one she wore a year ago, but she was also wearing a purple sleeveless top with a cream yellow strap connected to her new shorts of the same colour, long leg stockings that stopped just underneath it and white on the top with yellow and black shoes, a long black arm glove on her right arm and a band on her other arm.

_"Hey, guys! The King and those other two even asked us to help out with the research!_" Yuffie greeted happily.

"Yuffie!" Sora, Donald and Goofy cried out happily, seeing that now they were talking to the young female ninja in the Computer room of Radiant Garden.

"_Yup! Leon's here too and some two other guys who actually lived here under the apprenticeship of Ansem the Wise._" Yuffie nodded, moving the phone camera to her left to show off a familiar man who hasn't changed a bit. "_Say hi, Leon!_"

"_Hey, it's been a while._" Leon greeted as he had already approached, more calmly and far less enthusiastic.

"Leon!" Sora said happily.

Yuffie though pouted at Leon, pouting. "_Oh, c'mon! Aren't you at least a little happy to see them?_"

"_So, how have you been lately?_" Leon asked Sora, a bit more happier but still in the same tone he always had.

"_You...Could you at least _pretend_ to be estatic!?_" Yuffie grunted in annoyance, which made Sora chuckle and Donald, Goofy and Jiminy snicker in amusement. Some things never changed with those two and Yuffie was as chipper as ever.

"_As Yuffie said, the King has asked us to keep in contact with you guys for updates of what we know here. Cid's been working at Merlin's house for more clues and, well, we have new allies to help out as well. Some of them you guys know._" Leon continued, ignoring Yuffie who groaned in exasperation as she gazed low while shaking her head.

At his nod and her poutful look, Yuffie then turned the turn to her right to show an unfamiliar man that Sora's group didn't recognize; it was Ienzo who hasn't changed since his awakening along with Lea and Aeleus.

"_The data has been encrypted so we've only deciphered some of it._" The bluish silver haired man continued.

"Huh?" Sora blinked. "Who are you?"

"Oh...I guess we haven't spoken since the castle. I'm Ienzo." Ienzo greeted, before gazing behind him, Yuffie and Leon as Aeleus, having doing some searching, was beginning to make his way out while the younger man continued the introduction. "_Aeleus is here too._"

* * *

Aeleus paused, before turning slightly and all he did was give Sora a bit of a nod, then turned and walked away. Yuffie glared in annoyance while Leon just shrugged and Ienzo sighed with a knowing smile.

"Ugh. That guy's greeting is worse than Leon's." Yuffie shook her head, which made Leon snort in amusement and Ienzo having a bit of an exasperated and apologetic smile before turning back to the gummiphone with Sora's face in it.

"He's always been much of a silent and very serious one." Ienzo said a bit apologetically. He then continued to Sora's group. "Sora, the reason we're here is because you and your friends have defeated our Nobodies, thereby _"recompleting" _us. We cast off our hearts by choice, make no mistake, but we didn't know that Xemnas-or rather Xehanort-was deceiving us."

* * *

"Huh? Did you just say Xemnas?" Sora asked, shocked to hear this. He didn't remember meeting this guy as a Nobody, but if that's true...

"Aw! He's with the Organization!" Goofy groaned as he and Donald who was glaring harder at Ienzo realized the same thing.

"_Not anymore. Xemnas and Xehanort have no hold over us now. We're just students of the heart, exactly the same as we were before all of this began._" Ienzo explained.

"_Yeah, we were a bit suspicious about these guys are first, but when King Mickey and this Axel guy told us that they were all tricked by Xehanort and that we trust them, we found out that they're really are good guys._" Yuffie reassured.

"_You mean after you and Leon almost attacked them?_" A gentle female voice teased, as another familiar face appeared, revealing Aerith who still had her pink hair-bow, but now wear a light blue dress with one of the straps covered in material flower patterns.

"Oh! Hey, Aerith!" Sora greeted warmly, and Aerith nodded with a happy wave.

"_Sora, Donald, Goofy. It's been too long. And you know Yuffie and Leon. I think you rubbed it off on them when it comes to suspicions and making new friends._" The Flower Girl greeted warmly and saying teasingly.

"_H-hey! That's not what happened!_" Yuffie protested, pouting which made Aerith giggle, and even Leon looked a bit embarrassed while looking away, trying to avoid having everyone from noticing.

"Oh, I don't know..." Donald said suspiciously, mentally wishing that Yuffie and Leon did attack them, and wondering why King Mickey would trust the former members of the Organization.

Goofy however, thought hard for a moment before realizing. "Hmmm...But ya know, now that I think about it, Axel's on our side now too, and Yuffie did mention his name since he went back to Radiant Garden not long after Sora went back to the Realm of Sleep."

"_We have friends we want to bring back to this world, just the same as you. To do that, we have to work together._" Ienzo continued, and while Sora and Goofy began to let that sink in as Sora realized that Goofy had a good point, given that Lea had helped to save him in the Realm of Sleep, and as Axel having sacrificed himself to help them and Donald and Mickey to reach the Organization to rescue Kairi, Donald folded his arms in suspiction.

"_Sora, Donald, Goofy, you can trust them._" Leon reassured.

"Yeah...Okay." Sora nodded, deciding to at least give Ienzo and Aeleus a chance.

* * *

"In that spirit, Sora...we found some intriguing data in the bit of code we deciphered." Ienzo continued as he approached the computer after Yuffie moved aside to give the young scientist some space. The silver haired man typed on the computer to reveal an image of Sora and data relating to him.

"_Is it about me?_" Sora guessed.

"Yes. In order to piece your memories back together, our teacher Ansem the Wise took a close look at your heart. And what he found...is that your heart doesn't belong just to you." Ienzo explained.

"HUH!?" Yuffie exclaimed in shock, dumbfounded as she hadn't heard of this before. Leon looked surprised himself and Aerith softly gasped in shock.

* * *

"It doesn't!?" Donald and Goofy exclaimed in shock themselves while Jiminy jumped. But Sora's reaction turned more thoughtful than shocked as well, as though he knew this all along.

"I thought so." He muttered in realization, and when the others looked at him in confusion and surprise, he continued. "There's another heart inside mine. I think it's Roxas's. Just like Namine is still inside Kairi's."

He'd seen it and felt it. Sora knew that, since Xemnas had explained the truth to him in the Realm of Sleep, Nobodies were capable of growing new hearts, and that's what at least three, no, four did since they weren't as decieved as the rest of the Nobodies were; Roxas, Namine, even Axel and the black-haired girl that looked like Kairi he didn't know about but knew was a connection. Even though Axel had died and returned as Lea with his original heart back, Lea still had Axel inside him as the same person. But with Roxas and Namine and the mysterious girl...

It was different somehow. Sora wasn't sure how or why, but he knew it was different. Despite Roxas having returned to him due to being Sora's Nobody, he had grown his heart so strong that it's a real heart, but with no body.

"_Interesting..._" Ienzo mumured in amazement.

"_Whoa...! Sora, you sure are something! I can't believe you have two hearts inside you._" Yuffie said in awe, before she said teasingly, "_Even though you're still the same old Sora with a playful attitude._"

"Hey!" Sora pouted, while Donald and Goofy tried to hold back their laughter.

"_Well, no one knows your heart better than you._" Leon pointed out knowingly, and Aerith, while trying to hold back her giggling, nodded in agreement, as did Ienzo.

"_To be honest, we still have a plethora of questions on our side, but...the idea has merit. It's incredible enough that you and your Nobody are able to coexist. If you share a heart...no wonder someone as remarkable as you caught Ansem the Wise's eye._" Ienzo said as he continued to gaze at Sora's image.

* * *

"Man, do I have a lot to catch up on." Yuffie shook her head, then she smiled excitedly. "Imagine that; Sora, having turned back to normal and having a Nobody at the same time who grew his own heart and now is inside Sora's heart."

She then added teasingly, "That makes him the Great Keyblade Sora, much higher skilled than me, the Great Ninja Yuffie!"

"_Aw, c'mon, Yuffie. You're still an awesome fighter and a great Ninja. Don't go beating yourself up._" Sora reassured, much to her surprise and very quick embarrassment.

"Uh, no no no! I didn't mean for you to make me so seriously!" She quickly shook her hand and looked away slightly, scratching the back of her head while blushing in embarrassment, especially at the compliment and reassurance she received. Then trying to hold it back, she continued, "Anyway, the rest of us will be keeping updates with you guys and the King."

* * *

"_In the meantime, we'll keep investigating based on your hypothesis._" Ienzo added.

"_We'll be in touch. Be careful out there._" Leon waved.

"_Good luck, Sora._" Aerith waved.

"_Bye, guys!_" Yuffie waved with a grin as Ienzo nodded, and while Sora's group waved a goodbye, the commucation went straight back to Chip and Dale in Disney Castle.

"_Okey dokey, we'll give you fellas a ring if there's anything else._" Dale said with a nod as he and Chip had listened in to the entire conversation. "_Remember, me and Chip, the guys at Radiant Garden, King Mickey and everybody else are never far away._"

"_And Jiminy, would you do us a favor? Teach Sora how to use the Gummiphone._" Chip requested, knowing that Sora wasn't much of an expert when it came to technology.

Jiminy nodded, "Leave it to me."

The Chipmunks nodded before saying their goodbyes to the group before hanging up and the phone's image when blank that ended the call for now. Sora lowered it to his lap as he thought about what he heard. Roxas's heart was inside his own heart, which means that Roxas and Sora both have a chance to become whole separately without the risk of Sora becoming a Heartless and Roxas returning as a Nobody.

Problem is, how, though? Whatever it meant, Sora was more than willing to set Roxas free.

"I have to figure out how to save Roxas and make him whole. To be his own person." Sora began. "The others are following Aqua's heart because there's still a bit of light within her and she's somewhere in the Realm of Light..."

Realizing that he had a lead of where to go and maybe it would help them to find the first clue to the seven pieces of light to find the Key to Return Hearts, and that he can save Roxas's heart, Sora beamed as he looked up ahead. "So I'll follow Roxas's heart!"

Seeing this made the others smile and nod in agreement as they now saw that Sora had an idea. They were getting somewhere.

"Trust the guidance that your heart gives ya', Sora. That's what Master Yen Sid said." Goofy reminded encouragingly and Sora nodded in agreement.

"Where to?" Donald asked, smiling this time.

Sora gave him a confident grin. "That's easy."

With that, he summoned his Keyblade and once again held it out, and like before when they arrived at Olympus, it opened up another gate. Once that was done, the Keyblade Wielder returned to his seat as did Donald and Goofy before he steered it into the portal.

"We're going to Twilight Town!" He declared.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside of the castle in Radiant Garden, Mickey and Riku had just arrived to meet with Merlin and give the new vestments to Kairi and Lea. Riku had to admit, Leon and the rest of the Restoration Committee sure did an amazing job in restoring this place. It was no longer in shambles and pieces, the bailey has been restored, houses were rebuilt, the centeral area had fountains and new flower beds. Even the castle looked good as new.

"Radiant Garden is so different now. I hardly even recognize it." Riku couldn't help but remark as he looked around the sights.

"This is how it used to look like before Maleficent and Xehanort caused it to be ruined." Mickey explained, "But gosh, it still amazes me that it's good as new."

He then paused when he gazed at the castle, which prompted Riku to stop as well as he gazed at the King curiously.

"You thinking about Ansem the Wise?" The teenager gently asked.

"Well, sorta." Mickey sighed, still hurt over Ansem's sacrifice, but he shook those memories away for the time being. "I was thinkin' about Aqua. It's just at the front doors of the castle is where I first met her. Monsters called Unversed were attacking her and a little girl with a heart full of light. We teamed up and became fast friends. I knew when I saw Aqua's Keyblade and sensed both her light and the little girl's that I could trust her."

"Who was the little girl?" Riku asked.

"Not sure. I only know that she lived here. I don't even know her name." Mickey shrugged. "What I also do know that is that her light was very strong, like Kairi's. Hmm, come to think of it, it's almost exactly the same. Not sure, though."

"What about Aqua?"

"I don't think she remembers. On the other hand, I think it's somewhere here where Aqua fell into the Realm of Darkness." Mickey replied, saddened at the reminder of Aqua's current condition.

"After she dove in to save Terra." Riku nodded.

The King nodded as well. "Yeah, she said he was acting strange."

"Strange, how?"

"She sensed darkness in him, and they ended up getting into a big fight."

Riku thought about it before realizing that his friend was right. "Right. And in the aftermath, the two of them disappeared. Around the same time, the guards found a stranger with white hair lying-A man calling himself _"Xehanort."_"

Mickey nodded, having told his friend of that, as he and Riku both thought what was happening and how this mess all started; Ansem the Wise took the stranger in, but that was a mistake. Xehanort betrayed his master, stole his research, and along with his fellow apprentices, separated his heart from his body. Xehanort's heart took his master's name _"Ansem"_, and traveled to the past to give his younger self instructions. He even briefly took control of Riku himself.

His empty body stayed in the present while becoming a Nobody and called himself, Xemnas while founding Organization XIII. Their goal was to prepare thirteen vessels for Xehanort's heart while lying to the rest of the members except Xigbar, and especially Axel and Saix. Though despite that Sora and everyone else including Mickey and Riku themselves had put an end to the Organization, the younger version of Xehanort had been visiting the future to choose thirteen vessels of his own-hearts with strong enough ties to him to begin the new Organization, the real Organization XIII.

All this the two both of them spoke of to remind themselves that they have a big fight ahead.

"And now they're looking for a fight with us." Riku thought, before asking as another thought came into mind. "But what happened to Terra? I thought you said Aqua saved him."

Mickey's expression turned to anger and guilt, and mostly self-anger while clutching his fists. He blamed himself for everything that has happened; the ruined lives of Aqua, Terra and Ven, having Riku, Sora, Kairi, Lea, and Donald and Goofy involved for something that Mickey himself should've learned sooner and stopped a lot quicker to prevent all of this from happening, and while it irked him that if that happened, then Roxas and Namine would've never existed which sounded unfair to both of them, he knew that this was a heavy burden on his shoulders.

"Yep, she did. The problem is we didn't notice...!" Mickey grunted, almost yelling at himself before mentally telling himself to calm down. He then sighed and breathed in and out slowly before asking Riku, "You remember the end of the Mark of Mastery exam, when Master Xehanort made his grand return? That's the Xehanort I remember. He was already a pretty old man then."

Riku did remember; when he saw the real Xehanort for the first time, he'd been completely shocked. He never would've guessed that the one who caused all of this was an old guy who looked more ready to retire than plot something as evil as the demise and doom of the Realm of Light and everyone in it. Though that left one question in his mind that he'd been meaning to ask but hadn't gotten the chance until now.

"But how do you explain Ansem and Xemnas, his Heartless and his Nobody? Isn't it strange how young they look? Why aren't they old men?" He asked.

Mickey thought about it, and remembered what Xehanort told him as he put the final pieces of the puzzle together since the Realm of Sleep. "It's because Xehanort was using a different body when the split happened. That face from the portrait I mentioned-it wasn't just some stranger that Ansem the Wise took under his wing. It was the young man whose body Master Xehanort possessed."

He gulped slightly before continuing, "I never realized it until when he mentioned it. And since Terra was missin', and Aqua told me that Xehanort was interested in making Terra surrender his heart to darkness, there's no else he could've possessed and tricked; like you."

Riku thought about, and while he hasn't seen the portrait, he heard it from Mickey and Sora, when he put the pieces of the puzzle in his mind, he gasped in complete and utter shock.

"No way! That was Terra!?" Riku exclaimed.

"Yep. Master Xehanort was talking about Terra. Turns out, Aqua saved more than just her friend that day." The King answered.

"That explains it. But, Xehanort's an old man again. Where did Terra's body go?" Riku asked.

"Hmmmm..." Mickey thought, confused at first before realizing and remembered. "He must be in the Organization against his will 'cause Xehanort's collecting vessels! He claimed to have two of our seven lights. We got Sora back, but Terra must've been captured before he had the chance to return to normal."

"Like what happened to Axel's former friend Saix." Riku realized, having heard Lea admitting that he and Isa were best friends until Xehanort turned both of them into Nobodies and used them. He remembered the redhead having been shocked and dismayed that his old friend had rejoined the Organization, and that he was going to try and get him and Roxas back.

"And if we don't find Aqua soon and turn her back to normal, Xehanort will use her as his final vessel since he failed to do that with Sora now that she's overcome by darkness." Mickey added, with worry, fear and guilt.

"We should warn him and the others." Riku advised.

"Yep, and Merlin too." Mickey agreed.

With that in mind, the two friends continued on to reach Merlin so that they can deliver the clothes to Kairi and Lea before venturing out to first fix up Mickey's Keyblades and get a new one as well as find Riku a replacement to reattach with his heart.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy who once again hidden himself within Sora's hood had just arrived in Twilight Town to figure out the next course of their adventure. While they knew they had to find the seven pieces of light to find the Key to Return Hearts, Sora also wanted to learn how to restore Roxas's heart without becoming a Heartless again. If there was will, there's always a way, is what they usually say.

Though Goofy then thought of another problem.

"Gawrsh, we forgot to fill Master Yen Sid in on what happened. Should we at least call the King and Riku?" He thought.

"Typical Sora." Donald rolled his eyes, scolding the teen for not mentioning about the situation.

"You mean about Maleficent and Xigbar?" Sora asked, and at his two friends' nods, he shook his head as he had his hands behind as they walked down the hill of town to enter the tram district. "No, the others have already got enough on their plates as it is. Why go stressing them out? The three of us know how to handle a couple of old adversaries, right?"

"I guess..." Donald mumured, still uncertain.

"But doesn't that thing Pete said bother ya?" Goofy asked.

"The Book of Prophecies?" Donald inquired and his friend nodded.

Sora rolled his eyes, "Come on, we're talking about Pete. That means it's probably no big deal. Besides, it's just a book and I don't think it even exists."

"I dunno..." Goofy thought, worriedly. "Maleficent did try to lock us and the King up in the Datascape when we were lookin' how to solve Namine's message in Jiminy's journal, and she wanted that data when she tried usin' Queen Minnie to force King Mickey in givin' it up."

"Before Axel saved us." Donald reminded.

The trio stopped at this thought while thinking about it. It was a good point.

"Hmmm...Maybe we should be worried about it. But then, why would that be-" Sora cut himself off when he realized something. "Maybe she thinks King Mickey has that book."

"Gawrsh, that means she wants to use the Datascape to analyze it like we did with the Journal!" Goofy gasped in shock.

"But there's no book like that in the library and the King knows important books are with Master Yen Sid and even he doesn't have it. He told us about a bit about the Keyblade War." Donald pointed out.

"And the Key to Return Hearts which is what we're looking for. To help Aqua, Ventus, Terra, Roxas and Namine...and maybe another girl." Sora nodded in agreement, though what he said only confused Donald and Goofy.

"Another girl?" Goofy asked, puzzled.

The Keyblade Wielder nodded firmly. "Yeah. Don't know who she is, but she looks like Kairi, only with black hair and...a black coat."

"Wak! Black coat!? She's in the Organization!?" Donald exclaimed.

"Maybe she was, but something terrible happened. Not sure what, but, even though it was only a vision in that nightmare Xehanort trapped me in while I was in the Realm of Sleep, I could tell...something awful happened." Sora explained, placing a hand to his chest. "She looked so sad and...Somehow I feel like I know her..."

He blinked as he realized what he said before shaking his head and correcting himself, "No. It was what Roxas felt. They know each other, but, for some reason everybody forgot about her. I think he met her at some point, maybe here. Gosh, it feels like ages since we'd been here."

Sora looked around and even noticed the trams were still here as he and his friends saw one go by. While he knew it wasn't that long, it still felt like it was.

"Maybe you're feeling what Roxas feels 'cause he misses home." Goofy suggested.

"Maybe." Sora nodded, before turning as he explained. "I even ran into him in the Sleeping Worlds. It was like...seeing into his heart for the first time after seeing that girl."

"And he was in the datascape too." Donald added.

"Uh-huh. It was test to see if your data version was ready to face the hurt that ya carry inside. Hmm...Come to think of it, I think there was a girl in the memories the King and Data-Sora saw with Namine, Roxas and Axel, and even Aqua, another fella who mighta been Terra, and Venquist." Goofy added, while getting Ven's full name wrong, much to Donald's annoyance.

"It's Ventus, and everybody else just calls him Ven!" Donald scowled, before realizing what his friend also said and added, realizing that he's right. "Hey, I remember seeing that girl too! Like how you described, Sora."

"So she is one of the people I need to find. But...who is she? And...was I ready?" Sora realized, then gazed at his hands as he also muttered. "I know what hurt is. When I lost Riku and Kairi, and later when I lost the Keyblade, and you guys had to go on without me like that...Having no one to turn to was the worst kind of hurt. But that just shows how much you mean to me. Like how Axel and the girl I don't know about mean to Roxas, and Namine means to all of us and the King and Riku, and I'm gonna say that Aqua feels the same about Ventus and Terra."

Nodding as he understood, Sora continued. "All of their hurt are inside me, and one way or another, Power of Waking or Key to Return Hearts or whatever, we're gonna find them and end their hurt. Until then, I don't mind carrying all of the hurt around because that makes all of us closer together. Carrying around a little hurt can't be all that bad. Hurting is part of caring."

The more Sora was saying this, the more Donald and Goofy were amazed and reminded of what they heard before the Mark of Mastery exam. Plus the meaning of Namine's message which made full sense.

"He said the same thing that Data-Sora said and did." Donald whispered.

"Of course. Any Sora's still Sora." Goofy pointed out. It's like King Mickey said; Data-Sora is just like the real Sora, just another version in another world.

"So I'm feeling what Roxas is feeling. That means we might figure out how to help him here." Sora realized, then grinned in excitement before placing a hand to his chest and while he wasn't certain if his Nobody could hear him or not, he told Roxas in his heart. "Roxas, I'm gonna save you and make you a real person like you should be!"

But no sooner had Sora said that, he felt something in his mind and heart that struck him like an electrical jolt before a memory filled his senses and covered his vision. But as he watched, it wasn't his own. It was...one of the memories Roxas had shown him...and thankfully not a painful one like he felt before.

* * *

_Roxas was knocked to the ground by the Darkside Heartless, losing his grip on the Keyblade which slid towards...the black haired girl before it vanished and rematerialized in her hand. She softly gasped in confusion and shock at first, before somehow realizing what she had to do. So, she stood in stance and bravely raced over to the Heartless, and with a slash and leap, she finished it off almost instantly before landing safely on the ground._

_By then, Roxas had recovered and he was very amazed while the girl stood up, turning to face him. "Wow, I..." He began, trailing off before saying, still amazed. "Xion...I didn't know you could use the Keyblade."_

_"You know...neither did I." The girl...identified as Xion, admitted before the Keyblade was dismissed. The two shared a bit of an awkward glance before they started laughing..._

* * *

"Huh?" Sora blinked as soon as the memory stopped. What just happened there? Did Roxas...just show him another memory? If he did then...that girl must've been in the Organization and Roxas did remember her now...Sora even heard her name.

"What's wrong?" Donald asked as he and Goofy noticed Sora's expression.

"...I saw something...I think it was...one of Roxas's memories. That girl was in it, and she could wield the Keyblade. I even know her name now." Sora replied, and suddenly he felt an ache within his chest, which prompted him to place a hand to his chest. An aching pain that...wasn't his own, he realized. It was Roxas's.

"Ya do?" Donald asked, surprised as he and Goofy shared a bit of concerned glance, before gazing back to Sora.

"What's she called?" Goofy gently asked.

Sora paused for a long moment or two, as though hesitant to say it and he was certain that Roxas was hurting at this memory, a reminder that something horrible happened to the poor girl. He knew what it was like, because Sora felt that similar pain whenever something happened to Kairi.

"...Xion." He whispered, and he could've sworn he heard Roxas's voice echo it in his ears.

"Where'd they come from!?"

"Get the Ice Cream later! Run for it!"

"What? Hold up!"

Sora, Donald and Goofy jumped as they heard three very familiar voices which snapped Sora out of his trance before the trio turned and saw three familiar teenagers run from around the corner. Like Sora and Riku, they were wearing new clothes but other than that, they haven't changed at all.

Two boys and one girl.

"Hayner! Pence! Olette!" Sora cried out happily, only for him and his friends to gasp in shock and no small amount of horror as they quickly saw why Hayner, Pence and Olette were running away; a huge mass of flood of Heartless came parreling around the corner to give chase like rapid flood waters.

"That's a large group of Heartless!" Goofy exclaimed fearfully.

Hearing familiar voices, the teengers after briefly looking back seeing the Heartless get closer turned to see Sora's group and recognized them but knew that they didn't have time for a reunion.

"Sora!" Hayner waved before he, Pence and Olette ran past Sora, Donald and Goofy, quickly adding. "Hello, good-bye!"

"Go! We got this!" Sora intructed them before he turned to face the large flood of Heartless while summoning his Keyblade, and both Donald and Goofy quickly summoned their weapons. The large Heartless flood then soon formed into that of the Demon Tide that somehow entered the Realm of Light.

Sora, Donald and Goofy quickly dodged the Demon Tide's attempts to swallow them up before the trio quickly fought against it with all their might. Sora tossed his Keyblade at parts of it before retrieving it and chanted Firaga. Then he raced up and leaped up to avoid it's attack when it dove into the ground before emerging at another part of it to try and hit him. Fortunately Sora thought ahead and chanted Thundaga at in front of it, combined with Donald casting Blizzaga and Firaga combined.

Goofy spun around and around while hitting the Demon Tide before being knocked back and crashing into Donald, both of them dazed and seeing stars. Sora called out to them which unfortunately distracted him enough to be knocked down and hit as well. But he did flip and caught himself before landing safely. He cast Curaga to heal them before they, after recovering a bit, jumped and/or ran back to avoid the large Heartless Flood in engulfing them. The trio then continued fighting it until they managed to find it's core which they attacked together before finishing it off as the Demon Tide was soon destroyed due to being in the Realm of Light.

Sora's group then dismissed their weapons and turned to see Hayner, Pence and Olette approach after they saw that it was safe for now.

"Nice fightin'! Thanks, Sora." Hayner praised with a grin, while his two best friends smiled.

"Happy to help! But man, guys. It feels like ages!" Sora greeted happily.

"But hasn't been that long." Hayner pointed out.

"I know, but still..." The spiky-haired been shrugged, sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

"Sora..." Donald sighed.

"Donald, Goofy! How are you?" Olette greeted warmly.

"We're good." Donald replied.

Goofy waved at the teenage girl, "Howdy, Olette."

"So that means weird things are happening all over again?" Pence asked, only to shrink back when Hayner gave him a rather excited glare.

"You kidding?" The taller boy asked incredulously. "When have we ever seen a tornado of shadowy blobs before? It's not _"weird"_. This is _underprecendented_."

While Olette sighed as she gave Hayner a skeptical yet exasperated look, Pence thought about it before smiling in excitement himself as he said, "The creatures from the last time were brightly white, and these things are new. Man, I can't wait to get to sleuthin'."

"We're already done with the school project, silly." Olette pointed out to her friend, before turning to Sora and added. "Whatever's going on, you wouldn't be here unless you had a good reason."

"Yeah. We're looking for a way to help Roxas." Sora replied.

"Roxas?" Olette asked, confused at the name.

Hayner though, thinking about it as he absorbed the name in his mind. "Hmm...That's funny. I don't know any Roxas, but the name sounds familiar."

"Maybe we bumped into him or something?" Pence shrugged cluelessly, which made both Donald and Goofy share an uncomfortable glance.

"Uh, that's one way to put it." Donald explained.

"Actually, he mighta been friends with your other selves." Goofy stated, pulling out the photo of the three teenagers and Roxas that he kept since Riku gave it and the Ice Cream bar as clues to them when they were looking for the Organization's stronghold to rescue Kairi. He gave it to Hayner who along with Olette and Pence stared at it and were stunned to see that he may be right.

"This photograph...we have the same one." Olette realized, feeling deja vu hit her like the time with her money pouch she made.

Pence in question pulled out an identical photo, only it didn't have Roxas in it at all. Just himself, Olette and Hayner.

"Oh yeah! The other Twilight Town! It's like one of those _"spot the differences"_ puzzles...except really easy." Hayner realized.

"That means we're friends with Roxas in the other town." Olette nodded in agreement. The more she gazed at Roxas's picture, the more it made her feel warm and fuzzy. Somehow seeing him with the other version of herself and her two friends made her want to know him already. He looked very friendly and...cute, too.

"Sora, let us help you track Roxas down." Hayner requested, grinning as he gazed at the photo of Roxas again. "He seems like a pretty cool guy."

"Yeah, he is." Sora nodded, smiling.

"Why don't you guys go the Old Mansion since both photos were taken there? The three of us will ask around town." Olette suggested.

It made sense, Sora thought. "Thanks."

He then remembered something and had an idea as he pulled out the Gummiphone to show it. "That reminds me. I got this phone thingy that takes pictures. Want to snap a photo while we're all here?"

The other trio agreed and soon they, Sora, Donald and Goofy all posed happily for the photoshoot...except Pence quickly realized one small problem.

"Wait a sec. Who's gonna take it?" The black-haired boy asked.

The others realized that he was right. One of them will have to back out of the photo and take the picture with Sora's new phone. It wasn't until Hayner and Sora glanced down at Donald who gulped, realizing that both boys were looking at him.

"Maybe we should draw straws." Olette suggested.

_Five minutes later..._

A very annoyed and grumbling Donald was holding the phone camera-wise with Goofy behind him, and Sora, Hayner, Pence and Olette posing once more since the poor magician ended up drawing the shortest straw and thus lost out. Goofy backed out too so that his friend didn't feel left out. That didn't make him feel better, though.

"Why do I have to do it?" Donald complained.

"Sorry, Donald. But you did drew the short straw." Sora said.

Goofy, wanting to comfort him, reassured his friend. "It's okay. I'm sittin' outta the photo with ya, Donald."

"Then you take the photograph!" Donald snapped, shoving the phone into Goofy's hands and stormed over to the four teenagers and posed with them, but with his hands on his hips and an annoyed and exasperated look. The things he did for kids...

Not minding in being left out, Goofy told the others, "Everybody smile! Ay-yhuck!" and took the photo with Sora and the others smiling.

Sora and the others looked at the photo and smiled at how well it stood out.

"Wow! That came out great!" Sora said, excitedly.

Despite that it was easy to do and fun, Hayner knew that they didn't have time to lose and told the others. "Okay, we'd better start asking around. You start by checking out the old mansion. We'll catch up."

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Pence and Olette nodded in agreement before splitting up into two groups. Yet they were unaware that things weren't going to be all that easy.

* * *

Sora, Donald and Goofy searched a way to the Old Mansion, having briefly heard that the rival group Seifer, Fuu and Rai had left town on a 'warrior quest' or something like that and would be gone for a while. It wasn't long before the three travelers stepped through the opened gates and stopped just in front of the Mansion itself, which hasn't changed since the last time they were here.

But Sora felt a sense of...unsettling feelings as he gazed at one of the windows that had white curtains and for a brief moment felt like it wasn't his feelings at all. More like...it was Roxas who was gazing up at it in his place before Sora felt back to normal but he still felt uneasy.

"Weird...this place suddenly feels creepy." Sora muttered aloud.

Goofy gulped nervously, as he said while sharing a worried look with Donald. "Well, they do say that this mansion is haunted. Sure hope there aren't any ghosts around."

Donald quivered and whimpered nervously as he felt a shiver down his spine and through his feathers. It never occurred to him until now, but this mansion was spooky and unlike the previous times they came here, it hadn't had much of an aura of unease even when they woke up here and found a way to the Organization's world. But now...now it's like something would creep up and take you to the scariest places if you weren't careful or possessed by some evil spirit that lurked around this place.

The trio were too lost in their thoughts as they didn't even expect someone coming up at them from behind...until Sora felt something clamp onto his shoulder along with a voice saying, "Hey there."

Sora tensed for a second before crying out in fright as he, Donald and Goofy who both screamed in fright spun around while jumping, only to see it was Hayner who'd spoken and placed his hand on Sora's shoulder, along with Olette and Pence who both jumped at the sudden outburst.

"Thanks for the heart attack!" Sora growled sarcastically, placing his hand to his chest as he willed his heart to calm down.

"We thought you were a ghost." Goofy wheezed.

"What? Did I scare you or something?" Hayner teased.

Donald, not wanting to admit that he almost fainted from the unexpected scare, glared at the teenager and protested stubbornly, "Not a chance!"

Olette though saw through the magician's bluff and giggled apologetically, "Sorry. Our bad." which had him grumble while folding his arms.

"So how did it go? Did ya get any leads?" Sora asked after the adrenaline of fear ebbed away.

The other teenagers shared a glance before nodding and gazed back to Sora's group with the shake of their heads as Pence answered in disappointment. "Nope, 'fraid not. The asking around thing was a total bust."

"So this old mansion is our last hope." Hayner added.

"You guys ready, then?" Olette asked, as she was excited for a chance to see into the other Twilight Town and nervous at the same time.

"Another Twilight Town awaits!" Pence declared.

Sora nodded in agreement before he and his five friends ventured into the mansion once more, hoping to find answers in how to restore Roxas without Sora himself becoming a Heartless.

* * *

It took some time to reach the place she wanted to go to, but Aqua had managed it. It had taken a lot of energy than she expected given she was using an unfamiliar Keyblade with unfamiliar power of darkness, but it was worth it. While she had no idea how Mickey and Riku got to the Realm of Darkness, but couldn't the King arrived earlier? The darkness made her heart bitter and cold, and she lacked memories of how it came to be, but it didn't matter anymore.

She was free, but faced with the coldness of the truth; or so the darkness made her think of the truth. Despite Mickey's apology and tears, Aqua no longer held any sympathy or care for anyone. Instead, misery, despair and jealously filled her heart, because it was all she could feel including anger and hate. She was a shadow of her old, weak self that was the follower of light.

Aqua paused on the cold steps of a dark world and gazed up at the twisted castle of Castle Oblivion. All she could do was glare at it, the transformed place of her old home of the Land of Departure, the place she shared with Terra, Ven and Master Eraqus.

"**I never thought I would see this place again. Ven is still here.**" She said darkly to herself.

But as she made to step inside to find her missing friend since she still didn't have Eraqus's Keyblade, Aqua suddenly felt a sudden jolt of pain like a lightning spell zapping her mind that made her stop. Gasping as she felt an intensed pain of something she couldn't quite understand cloud her senses, and for a brief moment, her eyes turned from yellow to her original blue. Grunting and whimpering, she held her hands to her head as she backed away, like something was telling her to stop, to get away...

'_No...! I can't...see him yet...not like this! I can't have...the darkness..hurt Ven...!_' Aqua's inner thoughts, her gentle normal self cry out in her mind.

Aqua suddenly felt split within herself, like there were two version of her within her heart and body; a light side and a dark side. Without even knowing what she was doing, or rather her true self knowing what has to be done, Riku's Keyblade summoned itself in her hand, and against her will, she turned like she's being possessed and used the powers she used before to summon another Corridor of Darkness.

Once this was done, Aqua breathed in and out, panting before standing up straight and whatever she felt ebbed away, but her eyes narrowed as she had come to a realization.

"**I see...in order to enter, I must focus on showing others what it means to be alone...**" Aqua spoke coldly, gazing behind her once more. "**Ven...You'll have to stay here longer. We'll be together again soon, just you and me. Then everyone will understand our hurting we have endured for too long.**"

Without another word, Aqua turned and stepped into the Corridor to enter a selected world she would go, to fufil her dark quest and punish those who had forced her to endure this and not having come to rescue her.

* * *

**A/N: It seem like Aqua is struggling to fight the darkness that over-took her body while our heroes search for a way to save her, find the Key to Return Hearts and restore Roxas, Namine and Xion whom Sora now knows by name and appearance.**

**Sorry that this chapter was slow, but I'll try and make it up for it the next time. See you in the next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 7: The first Piece of Light

**A/N: I'm really glad that all of you wonderful readers are liking this story so far. I try my best with it and to one of the guest reviewers, don't worry, this story **_**will**_** have a happy ending, but we're still a long way to go. Also, Aqua will be fine, but like I said, we're still a long way to go.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 7: The first Piece of Light.

It hadn't taken the group of six-seven if you count Jiminy-to reach the computer room within the Mansion and just as they had expected and hoped, it was the same as ever. The computer itself was still intact and surprisingly still on given the situation. They remembered the time when Sora, Donald and Goofy, and King Mickey had used the transporter to the other Twilight Town in order to find the portal to the World that Never Was to rescue Kairi and defeat Xemnas and Organization XIII.

Pence hurried over to the computer and got into the chair before he began to type on the keyboard next to him. "Here we go! The password was...uh..."_sea-salt ice cream"_, right?"

Not a moment too soon, he successfully logged in. "Okay. I'm in. Let's get that transport working."

The others nodded and waited as the black-haired teen began to type down the protocol to activate the transporter. But as he did, Pence nearly jumped out of his seat in fright while the others also jumped in alarm when the screen flashed red and the only message that appeared was 'ERROR', stopping Pence from even reaching to what he needed, much to his dismay.

"Oh, man..." He groaned. "The transporter's been protected."

"Protected from what?" Sora asked.

"From us, I guess?" Pence shrugged apologetically. "We can't use it to get to the other Twilight Town."

"Why not!?" Hayner protested, pointing out while Pence leaned back slightly as the former approached. "It worked before! We sent Sora there!"

Pence shrugged, "Well, that was then and this is now."

"And there's no other way?" Olette asked disheartenly.

"None that I know of."

"Great..." Sora groaned, slumping forward, disheartened and disappointed. Well, there went that idea. If he can't get into the other Twilight Town like the last time he did, how was he going to figure out how to bring back Roxas without turning himself into a Heartless again? And since Sora wasn't an expert on Computers due to the only technology the Islands ever had were Light Bulbs, he had no idea what else to do.

Last time he tried using a computer was back in Radiant Garden, he nearly wrecked it which also kind of helped to some extent; it had him, Donald and Goofy learn the existance of Ansem the Wise shortly before King Mickey explained the truth about Xehanort's Heartless and the real Ansem. But even then, Sora had no clue and Leon had thought he'd handle copying things down easily by a few 'Keystrokes'...

Which Sora still had no idea what that meant even today.

Suddenly the now familiar ringtone brought Sora out of his thoughts which had him pull out his Gummiphone and answer it, briefly wondering who was calling him.

"_Hey, Sora. Ienzo wants to ask you something._" Yuffie greeted, once again in the computer room, before moving the phone's camera to show the aforementioned man.

"_Hello, Sora. You wouldn't happen to be in front of a computer?_" The blue-silver haired man questioned.

Sora blinked at the unexpected call from one of his friends and one of their new allies. "Huh? Well...yeah. But how'd you know that?"

"_I was tinkering with Ansem's Computer-you know, to decrypt the Code that was left in it? And I noticed that someone had logged in from another terminal. I figured it might be you._" Ienzo explained.

A bit of a pause.

"Oh, right! Yeah, the log terminal." Sora replied.

* * *

"Oh come on! You didn't get what he said, and even I know how much you're not a computer expert." Yuffie pointed out, rolling her eyes.

"_She's right, you know._" Donald agreed.

"_Oh, and what do you two know?_" The Keyblade Wielder retorted.

The young female ninja groaned to Ienzo, "Ugh. I told you and Leon that Sora's not one for computers. Last time, he nearly wrecked it."

"_I can hear you, you know._" Sora said, pouting which had Yuffie shake her head again and Ienzo surprisingly chuckled a bit.

Before he realized the meaning of this and asked in confusion, "Then, uhhh...who was it that logged in?" scratching the side of his head, baffled.

* * *

Pence, listening in to what was going on and while he, Hayner and Olette were amazed by the new technology of the phone, he decided to join in the conversation which Sora, seeing this, decided to show him to Yuffie and Ienzo so that they can explain better. Plus as Sora knew, Pence was the computer expert of the group at the moment.

"Oh, hi there. This is Pence. I'm the one who logged into the computer." Pence greeted and explained.

"_Phew. At least we have someone who's great at computers on the other end._" Yuffie sighed in relief, which had Sora mentally roll his eyes, and Donald and Goofy shrugged.

"_As long as it's a user that we know we can trust._" Ienzo added.

"Yup. But I'm kind of stuck here. One of the programs is protected, so...I can't run it." Pence explained, shrugging.

"_Which program?_" Ienzo asked.

Hayner at this point had gotten very impatient that he yelled out explaining, which startled everyone else in the room by his outburst. "The transporter to the other Twilight Town! It's the only way to find Roxas. You gotta help us."

* * *

Hearing Hayner say this made both Yuffie and Ienzo pause in shock and even greater confusion, wondering how such a thing could even happen.

"A transporter?" Ienzo questioned softly, trying to piece together the meaning of this.

"Huh? Another Twilight Town? No way!" Yuffie exclaimed. That was a new one to her. "And I thought entering the computer to Tron's World was crazy enough."

As Ienzo thought about it while also wondering about Tron which sounded awfully familiar, he then realized and pieced the puzzle in his mind before explaining to the others on the phone. "Okay...A virtual town inside the computer, made of data."

* * *

Jiminy, hearing this then jumped onto Sora's shoulder and exclaimed as he suddenly realized what Ienzo meant.

"Of course! The datascape!" He said.

"Mmm-hmmm, we've seen one." Goofy realized as he and Donald both also realized what this meant. "That's what we once used to investigate Jiminy's journal."

"_Maybe I can do something._" Ienzo suggested, before speaking to Pence. "_Pence, let's get a network set up. My adress here is..._"

Pence nodded and once he got the adress from Ienzo, the two worked on the computers on both sides while Sora, Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, Hayner, Olette and Yuffie all waited for both of them to finish...

_Around 15 minutes later...maybe 10 minutes tops..._

The group waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited...by then Yuffie in Radiant Garden was leaning against the desk in the computer room staring at the ceiling above her, while Sora here in Twilight Town was still standing with his phone in his hand, and due to waiting for a long time, kept on nodding off, softly snoring occassionly when finally...

"_Okay, sharing is enabled._" Ienzo spoke up, which startled Sora out of his near-dream-like state and almost immediately he was fully awake and Yuffie on the other hand stood up expectedly.

"Huh? Were you able to fix it?" He asked hopefully.

"_Now that the two computers have been successfully networked together, I can take control of the terminal there and change the privileges..._" Ienzo explained.

* * *

"Will it work with Cid's computer too?" Yuffie asked, curiously.

"If we share a network with him as well, then it's quite possible." The scientist replied.

"Sweet!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"_And Roxas?_" Sora asked.

"Yes. For the virtual world to be completely realized, Ansem the Wise would've included Roxas's full data in the construction. Meaning, somewhere on your machine, there's a log of that data that-" Ienzo began, before pausing as he tried to think of a way how to make the explanation more simpler, given that Lea was never one for long speeches and given that Sora wasn't a computer expert, it was going to be a bit difficult.

He then continued, rather awkwardly. "Uhhhh...Basically, we can decipher Ansem's Code more quickly, and we can analyze the virtual Twilight Town while we're at it."

"_Okay, great! Sorry I'm not a computer expert, so...do that._" Sora said gratefully.

"Glad you're following along." Ienzo nodded.

"And if we get stuck, Cid, Chip and Dale'll patch in too." Yuffie added smiling. "Just leave it to us, Sora! Either me, Ienzo, Aerith or Leon will call you guys when we get another update."

"_Thanks._" Sora replied.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot!" Yuffie quickly remembered, as did Ienzo. "We uh, got a bit of bad news; It's about another guy who used to be in the Organization too, but Ienzo knows him better than the rest of us do, so...yeah." She scratched the back of her head sheepishly and uncomfortably.

"Riku knew him as Vexen-but to us, he was Ansem's Apprentice Even. He was recompleted like the rest of us, but hadn't regained consciousness yet. Then, sometime after Lea left, Even vanished. Aeleus and Dilan-the two you and your friends knew as Lexaeus and Xaldin-they went looking for him with the help of Leon, but...he's just gone. And I'm starting to worry." Ienzo explained, and he was feeling concerned.

While Ienzo was explaining this, Yuffie was starting to become more and more worried herself, maybe even a bit freaked out but she tried to hold back her growing fear. While she wasn't familiar with most of the Organization members and never been to this castle until returning to this world with Leon, Cid and Aerith and meeting that guy Cloud before they all started to rebuild this world, she wasn't certain about this Even guy. She wasn't certain why, but he sounded...really creepy.

"_You think he's with the new Organization?_" Sora spoke up the question that was on everyone's minds, as it was also the first thing that appeared in his head.

"You had to go and say that, didn't you?" Yuffie grumbled. "After what I heard about this Xehanort punk, I'm already freaked out as it is."

"I think it's a real possibilty." Ienzo nodded, mentally hoping that isn't the case but he knew that it was more likely than not. Though it was the question of whether Even rejoined against his will or not. "He's a devious researcher. You should be careful."

* * *

"All right, thanks. You guys and the others too." Sora nodded in agreement, sharing a brief good-bye before he and Yuffie hung up and the Keyblade Wielder put the phone back into his pockets.

It wasn't until Hayner quickly remembered something else important and groaned in dismay. "Oh no! We got work! I totally forgot!"

While this made Olette gasp softly in realization, Pence on the other hand asked as he was more worried about this situation. "Really? But what about all this?"

"Hey, both are important!" Hayner pointed out while having already began to race out before pausing when Pence spoke again. "We're gonna need some cash to go to the beach, remember? Plus the pretzels. Gotta buy four now."

'_Four?_' Pence thought, while counting his fingers; there was himself, Hayner, Olette, and...his eyes widened as he realized that since they all wanted to meet Roxas, Hayner was already inviting the guy to join him to the beach. "Ooh, I get it."

Olette giggled as she also realized this. "Hayner's already planning ahead."

"Gotta go. Later, Sora!" Hayner waved.

"Yeah. See ya, Hayner." Sora nodded, knowing that they'll meet up again soon. Plus he didn't want the others here to get into trouble by being late.

"Bye Donald, Bye Goofy." Olette waved as she began to follow Hayner while both Donald and Goofy waved a goodbye to her as well.

"Oh, and since I'm manning the computer here, you guys're in charge of earning my share." Pence called up, smirking while thinking that he can get out of labor for once due to this being important as well.

Too bad that back-fired, because Hayner teasingly warned with a grin as he and Olette vanished to upstairs. "Then I guess that's more pretzels for the rest of us and none for you. Sorry, Pence."

"What?!" The black-haired teen exclaimed, before groaning in utter dismay. "Awwwwwww...I knew I was pushing my luck."

* * *

Deciding to head back to town and returning to their current quest which is to find one of the Pieces of Light to locate the Key to Return Hearts, Sora, Donald and Goofy left Pence to man the computer before leaving the Mansion for the time being. Even though they weren't that much closer in restoring Roxas, at least they were getting somewhere. Sora had to hand it to Ienzo, he was not only smart, the former Organization member was actually a nice guy.

But just as the trio were passing through the gates, the unusual sensation Sora felt earlier in his heart and mind struck him again and the next thing he knew as he paused, his vision went white before he saw another one of Roxas's memories.

* * *

_Roxas was just outside of the Mansion in the very same spot, facing Veil Lizard Heartless, the Keyblade in hand. He was about to fight it when he noticed something, or rather, someone at the corner of his eye that raced fully into his vision running towards the Heartless; Xion, surprisingly without her Keyblade in hand, was about to fight it._

_"Xion!" He cried out, which prompted her to stop._

_"Roxas?" Xion asked, surprised. Unfortunately this was enough to distract her because the Heartless smacked her and she was thrown to the ground, rolling a few times before stopping._

_"XION!" Roxas shouted, worriedly._

_"Roxas!" He stopped and turned to face Axel who continued since they had a Heartless to fight. "We have to take that thing out first!"_

_Realizing that the redhead was right despite being worried about Xion, Roxas nodded and he glared at the giant Heartless once more while Axel summoned his Chakrams before the two charged to battle it..._

* * *

Sora softly gasped as the memory ended, though not how he would've liked. So Roxas, Xion and even Axel were fighting a Heartless? But then...how come Xion didn't use the Keyblade? Plus he recognized the Heartless as the someone he, his two companions and Tarzan fought as well as fighting Clayton in Deep Jungle two years ago and that thing was tough in and on itself since it could make itself invisible which made it a tough opponent.

'_Why are Roxas's memories coming to me now? What's going on?_' Sora thought to himself, to which by then Donald and Goofy both noticed that he stopped and quickly began to look worried. It didn't hurt or anything...not the way it would shatter his heart. But...

"So, you think you can bring Roxas back?" A familiar vemonous voice snapped Sora out of his thoughts, combined with Donald and Goofy crying out in alarm which had Sora spun around and saw, to their dismay, the fake Ansem; AKA-Xehanort's Heartless, standing there in a black coat and his arms crossed with a cruel smirk.

"Ansem!" Sora grunted as he and his friends glared hard at the villain, only to gasp when another unwelcoming familiar figure appeared from a corridor of darkness; the Nobody of Xehanort who was the leader of the first Organization XIII. "Xemnas!"

"Roxas should never have existed in the first place. What you seek is impossible." Xemnas told him coldly and darkly.

"Roxas does exist!" Sora protested angrily. "His heart is inside my heart because it developed on it's own! Just like you said!"

"And in the unlikely event you did manage to separate the two, where is it you think can put his heart?" The Nobody questioned.

Sora tried to stay cool and calm, while explaining. "Well, he used to live in the other Twilight Town, right? Until I can figure out how to make him live here, I'll just put him there for the time being."

"Do you even realize what you're saying?" 'Ansem' said, finding Sora's resolve ridiculous and amusing. "The other Twilight Town is just data. It is not real."

"Hearts can live anywhere, even in Data! They're all around us." Sora pointed out boldly.

Goofy then realized something else and said, "Gawrsh, I don't see why you and Roxas can't exist at the same time, 'cause Ansem and Xemnas are existing separetly now and they ain't got no problems with that. They used to be the same person."

"Exactly!" Sora grinned in agreement.

"Yeah, you tell 'em, Goofy!" Donald praised.

"In that case, by all means." 'Ansem' began, unfazed by the revelation.

"Nothing will please us more than the return of Roxas." Xemnas finished, which only had the trio glare at the duo once again.

Sora grunted as he suddenly realized the two villains' motives, given everything he learned so far and after that he was nearly made a vessel himself, it wasn't farfected. "Yeah, you wish! He'll never answer to you guys again! I know what you're gonna do to him; you just want to use Roxas as the final vessel. Well, that ain't gonna happen!"

"Still so blind." Xemnas sighed, as though this was the saddest thing ever. "A Nobody is what's left behind when one gives his heart to darkness. There is only one way to bring Roxas back, which is for you to give your heart up. Sora, have you finally decided to call upon the darkness?"

"What?" Sora grunted, before coldness ran down his spine as he then realized another truth as deja vu lingered. He, Donald and Goofy then sensed something behind them and to their dismay, 'Ansem' and Xemnas had just summoned a group of Neo-Heartless and Nobodies which surrounded them to make the attack.

"If you wish to have Roxas return, then set your heart free..." 'Ansem' and Xemnas chorused evilly before they vanished together into darkness, much to Sora's dismay.

The Keyblade Wielder clutched his fist, before quickly summoning his Keyblade while Donald and Goofy summoned their weapons as he was saying to himself. "I'll find a way to bring Roxas back, but not with darkness!"

Sora, Donald and Goofy quickly fought against the Heartless and the Nobodies that began their attack on them. They dodged the attacks from the enemies before Sora slashed and swiped at a Neo-Heartless before leaping and attacking another in mid-air, just as one of the Dusks appeared next to him and knocked him back. He grunted before flipping and landed safely before dodge-rolling to avoid it's and other enemies' attacks. He then tossed his Keyblade quickly which hit it's targets that were destroyed almost instantly.

Donald used his Fireworks Spell to knock away as many Heartless and Nobodies as possible, while Goofy bashed other enemies with his Shield though he was knocked back slightly that made him stumble in pain but he tried to hold it back. Donald was nearly slashed which made him cry out in alarm but was knocked back himself. Sora, seeing this, quickly used Curaga to heal his friends and himself before the trio continued the fight against the enemies as long as possible.

Eventually the trio managed to defeat all of the Heartless and Nobodies that 'Ansem' and Xemnas had summoned, feeling a bit exhausted though, but managing to keep track of their mana(except Goofy since he didn't use magic at all), as well as potions and elixirs which they might wanna consider in restocking in the near future. Though given that the situation had become more serious, Sora thought about what he learned once more.

'Ansem' and Xemnas told him to give up his heart in order to have Roxas return, but the more Sora thought about it, the more he figured that they still intended on using him, which made him realize that this could possibly be what Xigbar intended on telling him; Xehanort still wants either Sora or Roxas as his final vessel, and to do that, Sora will have to lose his heart. But he refused to surrender to darkness.

"Herc said..., _"With all my Heart"_." He muttered to himself, remembering what Hercules told him earlier. That the true hero rescued Meg with all of his heart. Realizing that he didn't care what happened to him, as long as all of Sora's friends are safe and that Roxas can be freed as a human, he will have to do the same, and he's willing to do it. "Okay. All my heart is it then. I'm getting Roxas out."

Sora then turned to Donald and Goofy who, having watching him with worry, perked up when they heard and saw his resolve, before he asked. "Are you guys with me?"

"You betcha!" Donald and Goofy said in unison.

"I'm getting a feeling that Xehanort still wants to use either me or Roxas as his vessel, but I'm not gonna let that happen. Not by a long shot. But we'd still better tell the others to watch out and be careful ourselves." Sora added, as he didn't want to make that mistake again like what happened in the Realm of Sleep.

"Yeah." Donald nodded in agreement, "And we'll be keeping an eye on you just in case."

"Let's head back to town." Goofy suggested.

Sora nodded, and while he felt a bit embarrassed to be babysat, he appreciated in Donald and Goofy watching over him, just as he would do the same with them and everyone else he cared about. But as he was about to think of the direction in heading back, suddenly he felt a very unusual warmth inside his chest and to his and the others' alarm, his heart began to glow in warm light.

"What's going on?" Sora exclaimed, before he sensed something...very warm close by. Like...a powerful light in front of him. In confusion, he looked up and saw, to his, Donald and Goofy's further puzzlement, the image of the clock tower over the doors of the mansion began to glow as well, and it formed a Keyhole.

"What's that?" Donald asked.

"Gawrsh...is that what I think it is?" Goofy muttered, half-realizing what this could be.

"Hmmm..." Sora hummed, starting to think that Goofy may be right.

Having an idea, Sora summoned the Kingdom Key into his hand and held it up towards the Keyhole. The beam of light shot out from the Keyblade and straight into the Keyhole which glowed brighter until something began to emerge from it. A glimmer of light that began to form and materalize into a shape. It soon formed into a silver-white key with a red heart-shaped crystal attatched onto it on the top. Glittering in light, it floated down gently before it hovered in front of Sora who, curiously, carefully picked it up and held it in his hand. It looked like a normal key, but it was the size of his hand.

"A key with a heart crystal?" Sora muttered, puzzled and amazed. Somehow he could feel it's warm light and it felt...like hope. His eyes then widened as he realized what this could mean. "Oh, I get it...! This is what Master Yen Sid talked about."

Excitedly, he gazed at Donald and Goofy with a huge grin. "Guys! This must be one of the seven pieces of light to the Key to Return Hearts! The pieces are keys!" He stated.

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" Donald jumped up and down excitedly.

"Wow, I didn't think it would be that easy." Goofy remarked, smiling in excitement himself.

"I knew coming here was a good idea!" Sora said, before carefully putting the first piece of light into his pocket. Now they were one step closer in finding the Keyblade that will help him save Roxas, Xion, Aqua, Ventus and Terra. "C'mon! Let's head back and tell the others and then find the rest of those pieces."

With that in mind, Sora, Donald and Goofy hurried out of the forest to return to town and give Hayner and Olette a heads up before they would leave Twilight Town for the time being and continue their quest to find the six other Pieces of Light. While they knew the journey will not be easy, they were finally getting a head start...despite all of the dangers that were lurking all around them.

* * *

Unaware to Sora and his friends, 'Ansem' and Xemnas were hiding themselves on top of a building watching over the group just as they returned to town a short time later. Both of them frowned as they sensed that the young gullible Keyblade Wielder wasn't as gullible as he used to be anymore. That infuriating boy has figured out Xehanort's goal, and yet foolishly believes he can restore Roxas another way.

"Aren't you making it a little too obvious?" A familiar cocky voice spoke up. The two halves of Xehanort didn't borther turning as Xigbar approached them from behind, having known his presence even before he spoke.

"Giving Sora false lead is necessary, in order for him to fall into darkness and despair." Xemnas told him.

"Yes...just look at them. They wouldn't get far if we did not spell it out." 'Ansem' added with a smirk.

The eye-patched Nobody shrugged. "Fair enough." He then pointed out, "But let's not forget how many times Sora still managed to rain on our parade. Besides, that old coot said that kid ain't necessary as our final vessel anymore."

"Indeed. Should Sora continue to waver, he destroy him and his friends." 'Ansem' agreed.

"That is why we never have just one iron in the fire." Xemnas pointed out, "While we have two candidates, only one is needed. One that is also connected to Sora and Roxas. Neither know it, but Roxas and Axel's memories are beginning to return, and now Sora knows of that name, one that we cannot speak of due to our memories cutting short each time we think of it."

'Ansem' and Xigbar both glanced at Xemnas in suspicion and no small amount of confusion, wondering what Xehanort's Nobody was even talking about. Roxas and Axel's memories of what, exactly, and why did Sora know a name of whatever it was?

It wasn't until Xigbar felt an odd case of deja vu and asked, "Why am I suddenly thinking it's about a girl who ain't Aqua or that kid that Wise guy from the Realm of Darkness and Xehanort had been using?"

"Not a girl...a puppet, who like Roxas, Axel and Namine, had grown a heart, a soul and a mind of it's own. Yet while it's body perished, the heart and soul rest inside Sora's heart...just like Roxas's heart. But whether he does set his heart free, it's not is not necessary." Xemnas explained, and while he couldn't remember much of it either, he knew it was a creation.

He then frowned deeply as he added, "Though we must be careful, because the more Sora and Axel remember...the more our creation will become more human. We must keep all three and Roxas at bay, and avoid it's heart entering our final vessel."

"And Aqua and that other kid?" Xigbar questioned, placing his hands on his hips.

'Ansem' smirked with a chuckle. "Saix is working Ansem the Wise hard in the secret place as we speak. Once the guardian's business in the mansion is complete, that is when we move in."

Unaware of both groups, Organization XIII, Maleficent and Pete were not the only problems Sora and all of his friends would be facing.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the Timeless Realm, Kairi and Lea were surrounded by moving furniture that Merlin magically brought to life as practice targets for both of them. They were once again training as, due to time running faster here despite both of them not aging much in this world, it's been at least three months since they started using their Keyblades properly which was an achievement. And the more time they spent together, the more comfortable they got.

Now they were practicing on magic as well as keeping up their stamina of their fighting skills. Lea though had patched in to help Kairi to at least learn the Fire Magic since he was an expert on that and he had to admit, she was approving with that quickly. Kairi also practiced on healing spells since she knew was necessary. She also thought of coming up with a new magic skill that came from her heart, to balance her nature in combat.

A chair suddenly zoomed straight towards her, but Kairi stood firm and ready, and quickly smashed it into pieces with a swing of her Destiny Embrace, and quickly did the same with a stool that came to her right. Lea smashed a wardrobe with a low strong swing of his Keyblade when it came charging at him, and then charged forward and slashed a couch into pieces and flames that came from the Flame Liberator.

Kairi in the meantime leaped out of the way as did her team-mate when the furniture started to try and attack them all at once and they quickly fought long and hard as much as possible. When she and Lea were both hit twice, she quickly used Cure on them both before they continued on the practice. It wasn't until Kairi held out her Keyblade that she did something she didn't think would work or how she knew it's name.

"Flower Shoot!" She chanted, and a blast of magical energy of light and magical flowers shot out from her Keyblade, rather weak but still rather pretty effective that struck a coffee table that was knocked back and stumbling, struggling to keep it's balance. She saw this as her chance to finish if off as she raced over and whacked it three times before it was oblierated.

By then, the magical furniture were all gone and both Kairi and Lea were once again on their own. They both dismissed their Keyblades and shared a proud smile even though Lea also held a surprised expression.

"Whoa, Kairi. Where'd you learn that new magic?" Lea asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't even know where the name came from, but...I felt it like it was in my heart and I was trying to come up with a new magic anyway. So I guess it finally worked and like my Keyblade, I guess it was...because I used to pick flowers often when I was little." Kairi shrugged, proud of herself at her accomplishment.

"I'd say that was really cool. You handled it like a pro!" The red haired man praised with a grin. "You keep that up, and you'll be a natural with that kind of magic in no time flat."

The Princess of Heart blushed a little at the compliment. "Thanks, Axel."

Lea was about to reply when what Kairi just said somehow triggered something again, that made him softly gasp and his eyes widened as he suddenly felt something trigger in his mind...like a memory, but somehow it hurt...like the mother of all headaches.

* * *

_Axel was sitting on the Clock Tower in Twilight Town at sunset like he and Roxas always did...with the girl which looked like Kairi, the girl with the black hair and black coat...but she was still blurred. They seemed to be talking._

_"...If it weren't for you, X- might never have remember how to wield the Keyblade." Roxas was saying with a smile._

_"So thanks, Axel." The girl added warmly._

_There was something about the gratitude that made Axel feel strange on the inside, his face warming up and his chest getting the unusual...fuzzies. But in a good way and, while he had no idea what it was or how it was possible, he actually kind of liked it. While he knew it wasn't possible, the redhead actually felt embarrassed as he ran his hand through his hair. Though now that he thought about it, he realized that the kids were right._

_He did help out by coming up with the idea in the first place. He then had another idea and smiled at the girl. "How 'bout a Sea-Salt Ice Cream, then?"_

_"Huh?" The black haired girl tilted her head a little to the side._

_"Buy me one and we'll call it even." He explained._

_Realizing what he meant, she smiled happily and agreed, "You got it! I'll be right back!" and ran off to get the three treats and Roxas chuckled._

* * *

No soon had the memory ended, Lea had his hand to his forehead, gasping a sharp breath without even realizing it. Was that...another memory? He knew that moment; him, Axel and...that girl...they all hanged out having Sea-Salt Ice Cream. But...did that mean she was a Keyblade Wielder too? What was going on?

"Axel? Axel!"

Blinking as the headache began to finally dull, Lea glanced at Kairi who had approached him with a very worried expression on her face. It wasn't until then that he felt a familiar trickle down his face and it ached his heart now. Breathing in and looked away in embarrassment, Lea slowly began to calm down while quickly wiping away the tear that escaped somehow.

"I'm okay...didn't mean to worry you." He responded finally, feeling his face grow hot. '_Oh man. This is embarrassing._' He thought to himself in dismay. That was like at least the fifth time now since he started to remember the black-haired girl that Kairi caught him like this.

"What happened?" Kairi asked, though she did relax a little when she saw that Lea wasn't in any immediate danger.

Sighing, and, knowing that he can't just keep walking off on her to his thoughts forever now that they were finally becoming friends, if they weren't friends already, Lea turned to face her reluctantly and admitted. "It's...that girl I'm starting to remember. I keep seeing more and more of her...this time I saw her with Roxas...and me when I was a Nobody. I just remembered that she had a Keyblade."

"Really? That means you're closer in knowing who she is." Kairi thought, smiling a little in relief.

"Yeah, I guess. Just don't know where that memory came from. It's all in bits and pieces, so I can't figure out everything about her yet. I think she was...in the Organization us, but..." Lea slumped a little in hopelessness. "How does that make sense if there already thirteen of us at the time?...Not including the...well, you already know some of it of what happened."

"Weren't there any replacements?" The teenage girl gently queried.

"Nah. Not at the time, at least." Lea shrugged. "Maybe it was something else...somethin' that Xemnas was hiding and he was good at hiding and keeping lies. Not saying I'm not a liar, but, it just doesn't add up. What I do know is...she was close to me and Roxas. But...I can't remember her name, except that..."

He furrowed his brows as he came to a realization. "It started with an X...but it's not Xehanort or Xemnas. It's...something else...Roxas said her name, but I couldn't hear the full of it because it was somehow cut off or somethin."

Kairi thought about what Lea was saying, and somehow she had a flash of deja vu before realizing where she heard of that situation before. It happened to her; and not just her, but everyone else until mid last year. "Maybe it's because she lost her memories and is starting to get them back?"

"Huh?" Lea blinked, confused.

"I'm not sure if I'm right, but, maybe like what happened with Sora, the girl you're trying to remember lost her memories and everyone else forgot about her since you and Roxas were connected to her so much, like how Sora is connected to me, Riku and everyone he met. I remember that I was starting to remember him, but I didn't remember his name, except that it started with an _"S"_." Kairi explained.

"Hmmm..." Lea crossed his arms in thought, realizing that she did have a point. Somehow though, he felt that it wasn't the case with the girl he tried to remember, but he couldn't think of another solution that made sense. "Guess you have a point. But...somehow it's completely different. But I can't think of any other way to explain it. All I know is...Roxas probably has her more memorized than I do, and I can't ask him since he's..."

"We'll find a way to bring him back." Kairi reassured with a kind smile, making Lea look at her in surprise and slight confusion. "Who knows? Maybe she's connected to you, Roxas and Sora."

"Maybe you're right." Lea replied, understanding where this was going. "The others did say that somehow I'm connected to Sora too and I needed to be saved, but I'm already recompleted so, it's my turn to help him out, and the rest of you guys."

Kairi giggled, "You already did that, Axel. You saved Sora at least three times, and from what he told me, he stayed by your side when you disappeared."

"Heh. Yeah." Lea chuckled. "Thanks, Kairi."

Before Kairi could ask Lea why he thanked her, their attention was caught by a sudden magical cloud of magic that appeared out of nowhere before disappearing, and Merlin appeared, and, to Kairi and Lea's surprise, so did Riku and King Mickey who both now donned new clothes since it was the first time the two new Keyblade Wielders had seen them in a while.

"Riku! Your Majesty!" Kairi greeted, as she raced up to her friend and the king while Lea let out an impressed low whistle at the duo's new looks.

"Hiya, Kairi. Heya, Axel." Mickey greeted happily.

"Hey there, guys." Riku greeted. "Been training hard, right?"

Kairi nodded, "Yup! We managed to get the hang of our Keyblades and been practicing since then."

"She even came up with her own new magic. Quite an accomplishment if ya' ask me." Lea added as he approached.

"Wow! That's great!" Mickey praised.

"You really improved already, Kairi. That's awesome." Riku added, smiling warmly and proudly to his friend who blushed sheepishly.

The Princess of Heart giggled, "It's not that powerful yet, I just learned it today. Still have to work on it."

"Ah, yes. I can tell that the both of you have been training quite hard and remarkably. You have already come a long way. Why, before you two know it, you will be natural Keyblade Wielders." Merlin praised to Kairi and Lea who both smiled at him.

"Thank you, Merlin." Kairi replied.

"Yeah, what she said." Lea added, feeling embarrassed again but quite pleased with himself for making an achivement. He then said to Riku and the King, "Nice new looks, by the way."

"Thanks. That's kind of one of the reasons why Mickey and I are here." Riku replied.

"Huh?" The former Organization member blinked, confused as was Kairi.

"Yep! Master Yen Sid and the Three Good Faries got ya's both new gears too, to protect ya from darkness." Mickey added, giving Kairi the pink suit case while Riku handed Lea the deep read, the King proclaiming, "Ta-da!"

"Oh, thank you. That's very sweet of them." Kairi replied, gently taking the suitcase from the King.

"Thanks." Lea shrugged while slinging his new suitcase over his shoulder, though deep down he felt that wearing new clothes felt a bit wrong right now. But he'd worry about that later. Because there was something else that didn't make sense and he suddenly had a feeling it wasn't all good news. "But uh...I'm gettin' the feelin' you guys aren't here just for this."

Realizing that he was right, Kairi turned to Riku and Mickey, asking with hope and worry. "Did you find Master Aqua?"

"Well...sort of." Mickey began awkwardly, before he and Riku explained what was happening back in the Realm of Light and what had happened since their last meeting with Kairi; about Aqua's corruption, Terra's situation including being among the Organization's number, Riku's Keyblade being stolen, Sora being unable to regain his lost powers including the Power of Waking, Mickey's Star Seeker Keyblade being badly damaged and the Kingdom Key D-Keyblade needed the most, Riku being Keybladeless, and now Sora's current journey with Donald and Goofy to find the Key to Return Hearts.

By the time the duo finished, Kairi let out a horrified and worried gasp and even Lea looked very shocked that he let out a soft gasp himself, his eyes widened in disbelief. Merlin wasn't unfazed by the revelation either and he gazed at both Riku and Mickey with sympathy.

"...So now we need replacements before we can go out and find Aqua and hoping Xehanort doesn't make her his final vessel, or cause problems since the darkness has corrupted so badly." Riku concluded.

"Oh, no..." Kairi whispered, feeling sorry for Riku and Mickey, and worried about Sora despite that he was saved.

"Man...How much worse can this get?" Lea muttered in concern. "Hope you guys will be able to find her, 'cause I certainly don't want Xehanort to get to her like he did with...with Isa."

He still felt the pain, betrayal and guilt over Isa's corruption and having been made Xehanort's vessel, and while Lea was angry and upset over his former friend's current placement, he blamed himself for what happened to both of them at the same time, but he couldn't admit it to anyone. It was painful...and what hurt the most was that he still wanted to bring Roxas back...and remember the black-haired girl he was struggling to get memorized.

"Or what he tried to do with Sora..." Kairi added.

"Aw, Sora will be okay. Donald and Goofy are with him, and besides, he's stronger than even he believes. I just know he'll be fine." Mickey reassured her.

"And we'll find a way to rescue Terra and Isa." Riku reassured Lea. "The Key to Return Hearts is said to restore lost, sleeping or corrupted hearts. So with any luck, we'll be able to save everyone who needs us...and you. With any luck, we can bring Roxas back too."

Kairi and Lea, both feeling some relief and hope, nodded in agreement as well as gratefully as they smiled at Riku and the King. Things may seem dark now, but they wanted to believe that things will be alright in the end.

"Well, I suppose we should get your Keyblades seen too while Kairi and Lea continue their training, because pretty soon it's going to change into a new part of it." Merlin spoke up. "Under request of Master Yen Sid."

The others nodded in agreement and understanding. While Kairi and Lea were wondering what kind of new part of their training was going to be, Mickey and Riku were concerned about what they should do about their Keyblades problem.

"Be careful." Kairi told Riku and the King who both nodded once again, promising that they will.

"Yeah, same to you guys." Riku replied.

"We'll be fine. Don't worry." Lea replied, "Say hi to Sora for us."

"You betcha." Mickey said.

* * *

After saying their goodbyes to Kairi and Lea, Merlin took Riku and King Mickey back to Radiant Garden where they stood now in the passage cave underneath the Wizard's house as it was the secret magical entrance to the Timeless Realm that they made sure wouldn't be discovered since it was run by Merlin's magic before the Wizard went to check up on Leon and, grudgingly, Cid both the engineer and the Wizard still didn't get on that great.

"So, how do we get new Keyblades?" Riku asked.

"Master Yen Sid said that we gotta use our hearts to form new Keyblades. Problem is, my Keyblade already came from my heart and it's been connected to his magic for a long time, and I do know that the Keyblade of Darkness was callin' out to me two years ago. With you, you found your Keyblade somewhere, didn't ya?" Mickey replied.

"Yeah...after you and I separated when Xehanort's Heartless was still getting to me. I found that Keyblade at the end parts of Dawn and it just...grew attached to me. I'm not sure if it came from my heart or not. I don't even know what to do or look deep inside." Riku said.

The King thought hard about it, before suggesting. "Welp, then I guess we should listen closely to our hearts. Trust the guidance in our hearts."

"...May our hearts be our guiding key. That's what you said to Aqua, right?" Riku spoke of the phrase, and his friend nodded.

"Hmmm...I wonder..." Mickey muttered thoughtfully. He remembered Master Yen Sid mention that he should summon both Keyblades and listen to his Heart to form a new Keyblade. The King didn't understand what his mentor meant by that, but if it could solve his problem, maybe he should give it a try. So, he first summoned the cracked Star Seeker Keyblade, and set it onto a nearby rock near the entrance, before summoning the Kingdom Key-D.

Riku watched his friend and decided to remain silent to give Mickey concentration. The King closed his eyes and focused, concentrating on what his Heart was telling him. The more he concentrated, the more the King felt his power warm up within him and flow into the Keyblades and for the first time in his life, it was more than his usual connection. Riku in the mean time softly gasped and his eyes widened in awe as the Star Seeker glowed in light before slowly floating up.

When Mickey opened his eyes, he reacted the same way Riku did, before sensing the same thing happen to the Keyblade of Darkness and looked to see that it too was glowing in the same light. As though being told to let go, Mickey loosened his grip on it as it then floated up into the air along with his old Keyblade. The two weapons circled each other before stopping, and then glowed even brighter before becoming half-invisible as they then merged in a golden light that had the two Keyblade Masters shield their eyes with their arms when it was too bright.

When the light dimmed, Mickey and Riku lowered their arms while looking up and their eyes widened once again. The Star Seeker and the Kingdom Key-D Keyblades had suddenly become one; It was similar to the latter Keyblade as the Keychain remained the same, but the hilt was white with star patterns in four circles in each corner, the handle was dark navy blue, the blade itself was decorated as the Star Seeker Keyblade, but the teeth was silvery white in the same crown shape as the Kingdom Key of Light and the Kingdom Key of Darkness.

"Gosh..." Mickey murmured in awe as the newly merged Keyblade hovered down to float in front of him. He gently grasped it's handle as it then stopped glowing, and carefully held it in both hands while examining it. "The Keyblades had become one."

"I didn't know Keyblades could do that." Riku admitted, amazed.

"Well, it's not usually a common trick, but, Keyblade wielders used to do that. Or so I was told. I guess since it's kinda complicated to evolve your Keyblade that they kinda stopped teachin' everybody that." Mickey shrugged.

Before Riku could even respond to that, the entire room shook violently that startled him and nearly made Mickey lose his balance before it stopped. Instantly both of them sensed familiar darkness and the two quickly shared a glance. Knowing that even though Riku was Keybladeless, he still had the sword that Maleficent and 'Ansem' gave him despite it being a weapon of darkness so he wasn't weaponless at least. Deciding that his new Keyblade would have to wait, the two raced out of the secret place to see what was going on.

They emerged from the floor thanks to the secret elevator and found Cid, still the same as ever, Merlin, Leon and Aerith only just recovering from the unexpected tremor.

"What happened?" Riku asked, while having become aqquinted with some of more Sora's friends.

"Not sure, but I'm getting a bad feeling about this." Leon answered, quickly drawing out his Gunblade since whenever there was an unusual earthquake, that meant trouble.

"Yuffie's still in the Castle with that Ienzo guy, but I'm kinda busy here." Cid grumbled, panting. "Man, I hate Heartless and Nobodies if they're causing problems again!"

"Don't worry! We'll handle it." Mickey assured. "C'mon, Riku!"

"Right!" Riku nodded, as he and his companion raced out of the door before the others could protest. Leon then sighed while Merlin and Aerith shared a concerned glance and Cid just shrugged in exasperation. Sora really must have rubbed it off on both of them.

Then again...Sora and Riku grew up together, and even the King would risk his life to do the right thing, and Donald and Goofy were fiercely loyal to all three of them.

* * *

When Riku and Mickey reached the central square, they skid to a stop as to their shock and horror, it was a Thornside Nobody that appeared and was about to cause destruction to ruin everything Leon and everyone else worked so hard at.

"No, you don't!" Riku shouted at the giant Nobody as he summoned his Dark Soul Sword while Mickey held a tight grip on his knew Kingdom Key of Worlds which he decided to call it since it was a combination of both light and darkness now. Mickey quickly chanted Light at the Nobody's head when it turned to them before he and Riku charged, clashing and attacking it by leaping up towards it and attacking it's head while avoiding it's powerful punches even if it was moving in an alarming speed as a Dusk Nobody.

The Thornside then stretched out it's head and unleashed arcs of energy which forced both Riku and Mickey to dodge repeatedly while the former managed to find an opening and flared up a Dark Firaga at it's head once more, allowing Mickey to use his agility to jump and leap before smacking the Nobody right onto the head repeatedly before he landed safely back onto the ground with his friend. But they were caught off guard once or twice when the Thornside swung it's arms horizontally that knocked them back to different sides and knocked to the ground.

Thankfully, Mickey chanted Curaga on Riku and himself before leaping to dodge it's attack once more. Riku in the meantime slashed at the arm that was aimed at him before dodge-rolling the energy attacks that rained down that tried to hit him and the King. However, the giant Nobody aimed a punch at Riku who attempted to jump back and slash at it's head again, but it knocked him back as he slammed onto the ground and the Dark Soul Sword clattered onto the ground so hard that it broke in half, half of the blade snapping off and landing half way across it's other half.

"Riku!" Mickey screamed out worriedly when he saw his friend land flat on the ground as well as his weapon being destroyed. He felt a flash of deja vu and was terrified at the thought that his friend being in trouble again. Unfortunately, this distracted him enough for the Thornside to turn it's attention to him and Mickey was too late to turn just as it grasped him so tightly that he screamed in alarm which made him dismiss his Keyblade before being lifted high into the air, stared at by the faceless Nobody.

Riku grunted while trying to push himself and gasped in horror upon seeing his friend captured while Mickey tried to squirm himself free. He couldn't lose him! He blamed himself for the King being caught. "MICKEY!" He cried out.

He had to save him, fast! Riku didn't care what would happen to him. Mickey was one of his best friends along side Sora and Kairi. The King had faith in him, believed in him, cared about him, saved him more times than Riku can count. Risking his life for him, and Riku wanted to return the favor. If he had to give up his life, even his heart to do so, in order to save his friends, then fine. Riku had enough of being afraid. He had to fight to protect his friends, with all his heart!

Suddenly, as though time stood still and feeling the unusual warmth inside him, Riku felt a sensation that seemed a bit familiar but quite different this time as words from the man he never knew the name of and what Mickey told him earlier rang into his mind.

_"So long you as you champion the ones you love."_

_"Sometimes when you care about someone so much, other feelings disappear and then there would be no room for fear and doubt."_

"Strength to protect what matters..." Riku muttered, then nodded with determination and while he had no idea what to do since now he was weaponless all together, he would continue to fight. "My friends are what matter to me the most...I'll fight to protect them...with all my heart!"

He felt his heart give out a glow and for a split second Riku found himself in a Station of Awakening, but not Sora's or anyone else's. But his own. It was an image of his fifteen year old self, sleeping with an unsual Keyblade in his hand. In the circles of images around him in front of the image of Destiny Islands, were Sora, Kairi and King Mickey. Then forming in a glitter of light right before Riku's eyes, was a new weapon of a metal like blade, black hilt and handle, and a silver Keychain that was much like the Keychains of both Sora's and Mickey's Keyblades.

"...A Keyblade of Hearts and Bravery..." Riku muttered automatically, reaching out to it like as though his body moved on it's own, carefully grasping the handle of the new Keyblade-Braveheart-before everything went white and Riku found himself back in Radiant Garden while Mickey cried out once more.

Quickly knowing what to do, Riku snapped his wrist and just as he hoped and predicted, the Keyblade he saw in his vision appeared in his hand. Giving out a yell, he jumped up high before thrusting his new Keyblade right into the Thornside's head. It gave out a moaned dying roar before falling backwards and loosening it's grip on Mickey who, seeing what just happened, began to fall as he suddenly felt exhausted. But Riku quickly leaped and caught him in his arms before landing safely on the ground in a crouch. The giant Nobody in the meantime, weakened from it's battle and having been stabbed in the head, vanished into oblivion.

The two Keyblade wielders panted, before Riku asked the King. "Are you alright, Mickey?"

"I'm okay. Thanks for savin' me, Riku, and I'm sorry that I couldn't help ya." Mickey replied, gratefully and apologetically while being gently set down onto the ground as Riku knelt to his height.

"Hey, I already told you. What kind of friend would that make me if I didn't save you?" Riku replied with a smile, which had Mickey laugh before he noticed what was in the teenager's hand.

"Gosh...did you summon that Keyblade?" The King asked in awe, never having seen a Keyblade like that before.

Riku examined the aforementioned weapon and said, "Guess I did. I wanted to save you, even at the risk of my life. Then this Keyblade appeared to me...I think I was in my Heart, my own Station of Awakening when it happened. Then I remembered what you and someone else both told me. I think I finally materialized my own Keyblade and that's what helped me to save you."

"Wow! That was amazin'. Guess your heart was strong enough now to do that, that it made a new Keyblade. Ya did great, Riku!" Mickey praised happily.

"Yeah." Riku nodded in agreement, dismissing his new Keyblade for the time being. "Now we can go look for Aqua."

"Yep!" Mickey nodded in agreement.

With that goal in mind, the two first informed Leon and the others that things should be fine now before they would report back to Master Yen Sid of their progress and then set off to continue their journey to find and bring back Aqua while hoping that Sora, Donald and Goofy would find the Key to Return Hearts. Despite that both groups were now getting somewhere, their journeys will not be easy.

But little did they, Kairi and Lea know, there were more troubles lurking around the corner...especially when both Riku and Mickey were being spied on by a mysterious ragged figure from the corner of a house before slinking away into the shadows.

* * *

**A/N: Sora and gang had successfully found the first Piece of the Seven Lights, Mickey's two Keyblades had merged to become the Kingdom Key-W, and Riku's Braveheart Keyblade(which I still kinda think it looks like a Car Key but I couldn't think of a design of another new one, sorry. :P) has been materialized! And Kairi learns a new spell while she and Lea had gotten new clothes! Even though only one of them will wear it for most of this story to keep up with some parts of the real KH3. *Shrugs***

**Next time, Sora's group enter the first Disney World on their journey. See you in the next chapter!**


	9. Chapter 8: An Emperor Llama?

**A/N: Once again, thank you all for the favorites and the reviews and sorry for not updating this story. Last week has been stressful with things going on, family matters and everything that has been crazy. At least Mother's Day was a nice, peaceful day in spending time with my Mother.**

**So without further ado, here's a new chapter with the new Disney World, which...the Emperor's New Groove won out. Don't worry, Kingdom of Corona will come, most likely after this world. Oh, and this chapter will have a bit of a breaking the fourth wall moments. But only once.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 8: An Emperor Llama?

_Hours earlier in another world..._

In a world of a golden City that the Palace had a giant face of a young, handsome man, an Emperor of this Kingdom, surrounding it were a deep vast Jungle of dangerous predators such as Jaguars, a few villages including a peaceful mountain village of kind people led by a kind man who was a loving husband and a father of two children, soon to a father of three with a third child coming soon-

* * *

"Um, excuse me?"

**Huh, what? Who said that?**

"Right here!" A red and black llama suddenly appeared in front of the scenery with black hair, looking at the Authoress(me) while breaking the fourth wall.

**Um...You're not supposed to be seen yet.**

"But you're making this world's story sound like it's not about yours truly standing right in front of you!" The llama pointed out in annoyance. "I mean, come on! This is about me! Not him! Me! Not him! Emperor, Villager!" The llama pointed out.

**I was getting to that, Your Majesty! Now, could you please let me continue the chapter? You will be in it, you just have to be patient!**

The llama thought about it, apologetically held up his hooves as he began to slink away from view. "Okay, thanks. Just thought I'd remind you. I'm going, I'm going."

He slunk away and we return to the story.

**Okay, um...let's try that again...**

* * *

The world itself seemed somewhat peaceful, but it held a sinister plot that would put the Emperor's life at risk. Because no one really knew what was going on, until a big muscled man in purple and gold with black hair was running through the stairs and alleys of the Kingdom, with a large red sack slung over his shoulder, panicking as he went. His name is Kronk.

"Oh boy. Think think think!" The man muttered to himself as he was trying to get rid of the bundle but at the same time felt guilty for doing it the easy way. "What to do? What do I do with the body?"

But as he was going down the stairs into the Marketplace below, Kronk wasn't really paying attention to where he was going while continuing to ask himself what to do when he accidentally stepped onto a cat's tail causing the feline to screech in pain as well as being disturbed from it's cat nap. Kronk yelped, which caused him to drop the sack that tumbled down the stairs before landing in the back of a cart without the owner even knowing. He was a middle-aged man wearing a leather brown hat and a green poncho, named Pacha who was unaware of what was going on as he was beginning to make his way home.

Kronk in the meantime, not only dropped the sack in fright, but he also lost his footing and painfully tumbled down the stairs with the cat going with him while hitting his back, elbow and shoulder as he went before finally landing face first on the ground. The cat was on his head as he pushed himself up, dazed at first before seeing the sack on the cart that was being carried away further from the crowd, much to his horror.

Shaking the cat off him, Kronk quickly gave chase to try and get it back, while accidentally bumping into other people and quickly apologized to them while calling out to the unaware Pacha.

"Oh, hey! Hey you! Hey! Stop! Hey, you with the cart!" Kronk called out while excusing himself from other people. Unfortunately by the time he looked up again and called out again, it was too late. Pacha was nowhere to be seen, and neither was the sack.

Which meant he lost his victim.

"Uh-oh. This is not good." Kronk muttered to himself, worriedly. His boss wasn't going to like this if she found out. If anything, she was going to kill him.

Literally.

* * *

_Hours later in the Gummiship..._

Having found the first Piece of Light in order to locate the Key to Return Hearts, Sora and his companions left Twilight Town behind for the time being, promising to visit Hayner, Pence and Olette again soon once they knew more how to restore Roxas, if not sooner. The group by then sailed through the sea of stars to continue their journey while fighting Heartless that also sailed through to get to other worlds. Sora followed the guidance of his heart which proved to be a bit hard on where they should go.

Not long after they defeated the Heartless, Sora was gazing at the Key that he, Donald and Goofy found at the Mansion, the First Piece to find the Key to restore Aqua to normal as well as awaken Ventus, find and save Terra and restore both Roxas and Namine...and find Xion.

"Got any idea where to go now?" Donald asked, briefly interrupting the teenager's thoughts.

"Well, I know that we're supposed to find the other six pieces." Sora began, not looking up from the Piece of Light. He then sheepishly replied while scratching the side of his face as he gazed at the magician. "Uh...Problem is, I have no idea where they are."

"What!? Oh, Sora!" Donald groaned, dismayed and exasperated.

"Hey, sorry! It's not my fault these things are hidden in random places!" Sora pointed out, agitated.

"Master Yen Sid did say they are hard to find." Goofy reminded, recalling what the Sorcerer had told them. "We didn't even know the first piece was in Twilight Town all the times we been visiting."

"Yeah, exactly!" Sora agreed. "They could be anywhere for all we know. To tell the truth, I've no idea what happened or how I was able to feel where this was to begin with. It's just...my heart reacted all of the sudden and I could feel a warm light. It's never happened before."

Donald just groaned in defeat while rolling his eyes. He just wished Sora did know what to do or where to go, but as much as he hated to admit it, Sora and Goofy were right. This wasn't going to be and Master Yen Sid said as much.

Just then, the key in Sora's hand suddenly began to glow in light which startled him and the others. When they looked, the Piece of Light began to glow brighter which had Sora to hold it up to get a closer look which somehow made the light even stronger. Almost like...it was reacting to something. He jumped slightly as the Key freed itself while floating in midgar in front of the trio before the crystal shot out a beam of light into the distance.

The Kingdom Key then materialized in Sora's hand, surprising him and his friends even more. Confused at first, an idea then came to him once more and Sora nodded to himself before holding out his weapon as it glowed as well, and before they knew it, another gateway opened up. The Piece of Light then dimmed before returning to Sora who grabbed it gently as it stopped glowing all together.

"That...was weird." The spiky-haired teen muttered.

"It made you open another gate!" Donald exclaimed, finding this to be unusual too.

Goofy tapped the side of his head before a thought came up. "Hmmm...Maybe the Piece of Light is helpin' us to find the other pieces in other worlds." He said.

Realizing that he was right, Sora and Donald both quickly nodded in agreement before the former dismissed his weapon and declared, "Well, if that's where one of the other pieces is, then that's where we're going!"

While they had no idea how or why the first piece had gave them a direction, the trio decided it was better than nothing and if the world the gateway led them to would help them find one of the other six pieces, then they were getting close. So Sora returned to his seat and piloted the Gummiship right into the portal to the next world.

* * *

Short time later after disembarking in what the trio saw was a new world, which they learned was named **"Kuzco Empire"**, Sora, Donald and Goofy found themselves in a deep, dark jungle in the middle of the night. The trees were dense and huge, and it gave out an aura of unease. In a short distance, all they saw beyond the trees was pitch black.

"Where are we?" Sora asked as he glanced around after he and the others paused in a small clearing.

"Gawrsh, this jungle sure looks pretty scary." Goofy shivered nervously. He didn't like this forest at all. It was making his skin crawl.

Donald, trying to put on a brave face, scoffed. "Oh, come on, you big palooka! I'm not scared of some jungle."

As soon as the words escaped him, the bushes next to Donald began to rustle which not only alerted him and his two friends who quickly turned to see, he also quickly eaten his words because Donald screamed loudly and jumped into Goofy's arms, quivering in fear. Terrified of what it could be. The trio began to think it was a Heartless or a bunch of Heartless and Sora was about to summon his Keyblade to fight, when something cleared from the leaves and revealed itself; a little brown squirrel with an Acorn in it's paws.

A bit of an awkward pause before the trio relaxed.

"It's just a li'l squirrel. Ay-yhuck." Goofy remarked, as he set Donald down.

Donald though wasn't amused as he glared angrily at the little furry animal. "Hey, what's the big idea!?" He scowled.

"You sure gave us a bit of a startle, little guy." Sora said, more gently. Which was why he was surprised when the Squirrel held up the Acorn to him. "Is that...for us?"

The Squirrel nodded with a smile.

"Oh...um...thanks." Sora awkwardly replied, carefully accepting the offer and gently taking the Acorn from the Squirrel who blushed and held his hands behind his back in a gesture that seemed to say 'Aw, it was nothin'.'

"That was awful nice of 'im." Goofy thought, smiling.

"Maybe he likes being kind to strangers." Sora shrugged, which he did think was nice of the Squirrel.

"Oh, let's get goin'! We're wasting time as it is." Donald told them as he started to storm off, still annoyed at being startled by the little Squirrel...only to stop when he and the others heard a scream coming from the trees close by. When the group looked and the Squirrel, scared by the scream, ran off into the bushes.

The scream was coming from a red and black llama who burst through the bushes and was running away from a large pack of Jaguars. Except they were not normal Jaguars at all; they had Heartless Emblem on their chests and glowing yellow eyes which even as the llama ran past them screaming, Sora, Donald and Goofy became fully alert.

"Heartless!" Sora grunted, quickly summoning his Keyblade while Goofy brought out his shield and Donald summoning his Staff. The llama in the meantime continued on running, though he did look back to see three unfamiliar guys holding out weapons and facing the Heartless who were now gazing at the trio, ready to attack.

He then surprisingly spoke, "Oookay...I don't know who those guys are with the giant Key-Sword thingy that kid's holding, but...if they wanna go and get eaten by those killer Jaguars, not my problem." before running away once more.

While the llama vanished into the trees, Sora, Donald and Goofy were handling the Heartless who spread out all around them to attack. Each and every one of them attempted to pounce and claw at them. But the trio ran or jumped out of the way to avoid the attacks while counterattacking the monsters. Sora jumped and dodge-rolled while avoiding the Heartless's claw before slashing hard at it's back as it roared in pain before vanishing out of existance. Sensing movement behind him, Sora turned just in time to see one of the Element Heartless that appeared about to blast fire on him, but he was quicker and chanted Blizzard to eliminate it.

Goofy whacked one of the helmet-Heartless into oblivion with his shield before being hit on the back by a normal Shadow Heartless as he cried out in pain. Thankfully he clumsily dodged it's second attack before bashing it quickly. He then cried out in alarm when one of the Jaguar Heartless tried to pounce onto him. He ran to the side to avoid it's attack and it ended up smacking into a tree face-first and inadvertly destroying itself.

Donald attempted to zap three Heartless with his Thundaga Spell, but he only managed to hit one while the other two Jaguar Heartless dodged and made to pounce him. He yelped before running away from the two monsters who hit each other by accident and then finished off by Sora who cleaved one hard, and whacked the other fairly quickly. The magican, relieved to be okay, then chanted Firaga on three Shadow Heartless that eliminated them while Sora struck one of the large Belly-Heartless on the back three times and repeated the progress with the other two same Heartless, avoiding being hit by their bellies or stomps.

He was unexpectedly hit when another Jaguar Heartless managed to scratch him on the arm and Sora hissed at the stinging pain which scratches began to bleed a little. He didn't let this daunt him, though, because when the Heartless then pounced at him, Sora tossed his Keyblade at it which knocked it back slightly before being hit again when the weapon returned to him while the monster vanished in a dying moan.

Fortunately the three of them managed to successfully defeat all of the Heartless in the area for the time being and wasted no time in either Sora and Donald using Cure before gulping down Elixirs to reboost their magic, or jugging down Hi-Potions to restore their energy and heal up the scratches they each rechieved.

They then heard twin screams, one of a determined yell, and the other was the same scream that came from the llama earlier in the distance.

"Over there!" Sora cried out, and with a nod of agreement with his friends, the trio quickly took off in following the direction knowing that there were others that were in danger of the Heartless and dangerous wildlife in the jungle. They encountered a few more Heartless along the way until they nearly fell off a cliff, but somehow ended up on a large log that hanged onto the edge.

"Did we take a wrong turn?" Sora asked, looking around.

"You need to work on your sense of direction, Sora." Donald scolded, glaring at him.

"Hey, the Heartless distracted me, okay?" The Keybearer argued.

While the two were once again bickering, Goofy heard the screams getting closer and closer until he saw the same llama and a man in a green poncho swinging on a vine, the latter holding onto the former who looked terrified, hanging on for dear life. Unfortunately as the man was assuring the llama that he's safe, he wasn't looking where he was going.

"LOOK OUT!" Goofy screamed out, knowing what was about to happen next.

But all four saw too late as suddenly the man and the llama hit the trio while the vine snapped and all five of them were spun around and around until the last of it ended and they were all tied up to the log, with Sora and the man in green facing upward, Goofy slightly with them on Sora's right, and Donald on the man's left, and the llama facing down below facing the river from a sheer drop.

"Okay, maybe I'm just new to this whole rescuing thing, not to mention these three guys somehow managing to not get eaten by the Jaguars earlier, but this to me might be considered kind of a step backwards, wouldn't you say, Pacha?" The Ilama said, dryly, which surprised Sora, Donald and Goofy.

"Whoa! A talking llama?" Sora exclaimed, shocked. Then again he shouldn't be surprised as he'd seen other weird things in other worlds that was normal to their residents; Card Guards and vanishing Cats in Wonderland, Genies and Magic Carpets in Agrabah, Merpeople in Atlantica which included talking fish and crabs, faries and flying in Neverland, and even talking Gargoyles in the City of Bells within the Realm of Sleep.

"Hey, I'm not a full-time llama, kid! I used to be a human; a rich, powerful man in the entire kingdom! Name's Emperor Kuzco." Kuzco grunted at Sora, which surprised him and his friends even further.

"Emperor...?" Sora muttered, before wincing and then introduced himself and his friends. "Uh, sorry, your Highness. I'm Sora, and this is Donald, and Goofy."

He then gazed at Pacha and asked, "Um...and you, sir?"

"Uh, Pacha. And how Kuzco turned into a llama...none of us have any idea right now." Pacha replied, a bit awkwardly.

"Doesn't the Emperor have one idea at least?" Sora queried, confused.

"Can't we worry about that later?" Donald asked in annoyance, before gulping nervously at the sheer drop.

"Gawrsh...we're very high up!" Goofy muttered, terrified.

Pacha, while wondering where Sora and his friends came from, quickly assured all four of them despite the situation they were currently stuck in. "No, no, no. It's-it's okay. This-this is all right. We can figure this out."

Unfortunately, the log began to crack making it bend downwards. The five of them froze before, Kuzco told Pacha dryly. "Pacha? I hate you."

"...We're gonna die." Donald said in horror.

The log then broke free from the cliff and Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kuzco and Pacha all screamed as they fell below into the river of the valley, landing in a huge splash. They were briefly underwater until resurfacing half way and screamed as they were washed down the dangerous currents of the river. Eventually they were flown up after hitting a rock and landed in a more calmer river and gently floated. The five of them coughed up water that got into their lungs slightly before sighing in relief.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting all funned out." Kuzco remarked in a sour tone.

Sora was about to retort on the former human-turned-llama's attitude when he, Pacha, Donald, and Goofy saw something that made their words fade as their eyes widened in horror, making all four of them mutter in unison, "Uh-oh."

"Don't tell me." Kuzco said, surprisingly calm. "We're about to go over a huge waterfall."

"Yep." Pacha replied, in the same calm tone, while Sora, Donald and Goofy strugged to get themselves, Pacha and Kuzco free, knowing that they would all end up dead at this rate.

"Sharp rocks at the bottom?" Kuzco asked, still calm.

"Most likely." Pacha answered, which made the trio freeze up in horror.

"...Bring it on." Kuzco muttered.

No one else had time to say anything else as they all then fell down the waterfall screaming loudly while trying to brace themselves for what they thought would be their bitter end. They then vanished into the mists below...

* * *

_"Terra!" A boy that would be mistaken for Roxas but in different clothes called up as soon as he spotted his friend just in front of the small building that lead underground somewhere. The teenage boy came to a stop as his taller friend who had brown hair and blue eyes, and had turned to his voice. _

_Panting a little after all that running, he requestingly said. "Take me with you!"_

_"I can't do that, Ven." The man, named Terra apologetically replied, much to Ven's disappointment._

_"Why not?" Ven asked, hanging his head in defeat._

_"I just..." Terra began, before reconsidering his words before continuing. "When I really need you, Ven, I know you'll be there."_

_That cheered Ven up a little as he pointed out. "Well, why wouldn't I? You're my friend."_

_That made Terra smile a little as he realized that his youngest friend had a point. While he didn't want him to get hurt, at the same time he was slowly coming to terms that Ven wasn't a little kid anymore._

_"Yeah. You're right. Thanks, Ven." Terra replied..._

* * *

"Terra!" Sora jolted upright all of the sudden, panting as he felt disorientated, briefly wondering where he was or what was going on. As though someone else woke up inside him briefly, Sora blinked in confusion wondering what made him blurt out like that, then saw that he was on the shores of a riverbank, and he was feeling rather wet and cold.

"Sora!" Donald's voice snapped Sora back to reality, as the teenager looked to see the said duck along with Goofy, Pacha and a very annoyed and confused Kuzco standing by, with Sora's two companions on both sides of him.

"Are you okay?" Goofy asked, worriedly.

"Y-yeah. I think so." Sora replied, as the disorientation finally eased off and while he had no idea where that unusual dream had come from, his real memories came back and he quickly remembered that all five of them plummeted down the waterfall where he lost consciousness. "How did we survive that waterfall?"

"Gawrsh, me and Donald carried ya while Mr. Pacha saved Kuzco from drownin'." Goofy explained. "We were worried that you wouldn't wake up, Sora."

"Oh...thanks, Donald, Goofy." Sora said, giving his two friends a grateful smile.

"What happened?" Pacha asked, concerned.

"Yeah, why did you scream this 'Terra' person?" Kuzco asked, more annoyed than anything else.

Blinking at this, Sora scratched the back of his head as he replied, uncertain himself. "I...have no idea. I don't even know where that dream came from."

Though the moment he said this, Sora felt an ache in his chest, seeped into his heart as though it wasn't a dream. But rather, like with Roxas...a memory. But, how does that make sense if he only had Roxas's heart within his own heart? Yet there was something familiar about it and...Sora could even recall every detail of that dream; that boy that looked like Roxas...it was Ventus; which the taller guy, which Sora was now certain was Terra, called him Ven. Then again, King Mickey called him Ven too.

'_Why am I seeing...Ventus and Terra's memories?_' Sora thought to himself. Roxas he could understand considering how he was Sora's Nobody but with a heart of his own which was trapped inside Sora's heart, and Roxas had shown him most of his memories in the Realm of Sleep. But it didn't make sense to see Ventus and Terra's memories if they didn't have that much of a connection...did they?

"Well, while you're trying to figure out this dream of yours, kid, I'm gonna work on washing my mouth out from Pacha's kiss that woke me up." Kuzco rolled his eyes as he went over to the small pond.

Pacha groaned before correcting the Emperor, "For the last time, it was _not_ a kiss."

"Well, whatever you call it, it was dis-_gust_-ing!" Kuzco replied, before taking time to wash out his mouth from the 'germs' of the kiss before spitting at the side and then approached while Sora pushed himself up. "And to think, if you'd done what I ordered you to do in the first place, we both could have been spared your little kiss of life!"

"Um..." Sora muttered uneasily, gazing at both Donald and Goofy with a look that said, '_Do-I-want-to-know?_'

Donald just shrugged while Goofy whispered, "We were both too busy tryin' to wake you up."

Kuzco ignored the trio and smugly continued with a grin, "But now that we're here, you will take me back to the palace, I'll have Yzma change me back, and then I'll start construction on Kuzcotopia."

"Yzma? Kuzcotopia?" Sora asked, dumbfounded.

"Who's Yzma?" Goofy asked.

"She's my advisor-well, ex-advisor now. But I do know that she has this 'Secret Lab' with all these doo-hickeys and stuff." Kuzco answered.

"And...this Kuzcotopia...?" Sora began.

Pacha sighed, and grudgingly answered before Kuzco had the chance. "It's his summer house he wants to build, but thing is he wants to build it where my village is, leaving the rest of us with nowhere else to go."

"What?!" Sora, Donald and Goofy exclaimed in shock, and no small amount of anger and disgust.

"You mean to tell us you're kicking Pacha and everybody else in his village out just so you can build a vacation home!?" Sora demanded the llama as he, Donald and Goofy turned to glare at Kuzco angrily.

"That's not fair!" Donald yelled angrily.

"No wonder the Heartless are after him." Goofy whispered to his friends who nodded in agreement. Considering how Kuzco would carelessly kick Pacha and the other villagers out of their homes just to make room for a summer home for himself was cold and cruel. Which meant he had more darkness in his heart meaning that he didn't care at all.

"Now, calm down." Pacha told the three of them as calmly as he could, before saying to Kuzco, advising as he tried to reason with him. "Okay, now look. I think we got off on the wrong foot here. I mean, if you really thought about it, you'd decide to build your home on a different hilltop."

"And why would I do that?" Kuzco asked, uninterested.

Trying to control his anger at the young emperor, Pacha responded. "Because, deep down, I think you'll realize that you're forcing an entire village out of their homes just for you."

"And that's...bad?" Kuzco replied.

"'Course it is. They wouldn't have anywhere else to go if you did that." Sora replied, trying to control his own anger, once he saw that Pacha was being as calm as possible and realized that he couldn't let his feelings get to him. Still, it was starting to remind him of how Xehanort wanted to start up another Keyblade War just to get the X-Blade and destroy many lives without caring at all; the old man had ruined so many lives and caused all this to happen;

Ventus, Terra, Aqua, Lea, Isa, Sora himself, Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, Ansem the Wise, Master Eraqus...everyone.

Kuzco considered those words, before ordering. "Now take me back."

That shocked the other four as Sora grunted, "Hey! Ugh, you're so selfish, you know that? All you care about is your stupid summer house filled with everything just for you!"

"Uh, yeah. Doy. Me. Everyone else in the kingdom gets it. Though you guys don't seem to be with the program. Right?" Kuzco argued back.

"Whatever." Sora scoffed, folding his arms. "One of these days, you'll be in real big trouble and then you'll realize how much your attitude stinks that makes almost everyone not like you."

"He's right, you know." Pacha said in agreement with disappointment and somewhat sympathy. "You're gonna wind up all alone. And you'll have no one to blame but yourself."

That only made Kuzco roll his eyes, not concerned about these 'warnings' both Sora and Pacha were making as he replied sarcastically. "Thanks for that, I'll log that away." He then said seriously, "Now, I order you to take me back to the Palace."

"Not until you change your attitude." Donald replied, turning away as he folded his arms.

"Sorry, Kuzco. But we can't do that." Goofy apologetically replied, more gentle and sympathic than the others were. While he was angry and shocked what Kuzco's decisons and choices of life, he didn't really think the Emperor was that bad. Like with Iago last year when the parrot began to change his ways, and with Axel who had sacrificed himself to save them before fading and then being recompleted as his human-self, Goofy felt that there was some good in Kuzco.

"Well, seems like you're stuck out here. Because unless you change your mind, I'm not taking you back, and don't even think about asking Sora and his friends either." Pacha said in the mocking attitude that Kuzco had.

Sora sighed, shaking his head as he began to regret in being angry despite that Kuzco's attitude got on his nerves. Still, he didn't want to think that Kuzco was that cruel and ungrateful.

So he told Kuzco a bit more softly, "Look, you're an Emperor, right? Being a ruler and leader doesn't mean you get to do everything that you want or force anyone to do what you want. There'll be people who will go up against you, maybe even hurt you if they don't like the way you are."

"And what are you, an expert?" Kuzco asked, annoyed at the fact that he's stuck in the jungle.

"No, but I met plently of royal people, even from a village I come from." Sora replied, referring to King Mickey, as well as those like King Triton, Jasmine, Simba, Jack Skellington, even Ansem the Wise, and Beast. "I even know two who made tons of mistakes that hurt others, and eventually they regretted every single one of those decisions and only one of them managed to survive, and actually had the similar problem like you did before he turned back after realizing the real meaning of caring for others and even fell in love with the person most important to him, while the other..."

Sora paused, trying to find the right words how to describe Wise Ansem's sacrifice and then sighed. "...He sacrificed himself helping us, no matter how much the others and I tried to save him. But the point is, unless you do something about changing your ways and understanding what it takes to be an Emperor and leader, you gotta care for others. Otherwise you're just like another guy who's causing problems and hurting so many people just to get what he wants that'll destroy so many lives...even your own."

"So...you think that I'll end up dead if I don't change my mind?" Kuzco deadpanned.

"I don't think...I just know...don't ask me why and I don't read minds or whatever. But caring for others is more important than caring about yourself." Sora replied, turning to find a place to rest for the night as it was getting quite dark.

Kuzco just glared at the backs of the group, mocking silently to himself. "_'Not until you change your attitude'_._ 'Because unless you change your mind, I'm not taking you back, and don't even think about asking Sora and his friends either'_. _'Caring for others is more important than caring about yourself'_. Me me me, mo mo mo."

Though the moment he mocked Sora's comment, Kuzco couldn't help but feel the odd...pang in his chest that startled him a bit. Whether he did believe that Sora met other royals or not, somehow he just knew...the kid was telling the truth about other royals, two in paticular that both made bad mistakes and only one of them learned his lesson, returned to normal and survived. The other...gave up his life for others and no matter how hard Sora and his friends had tried, they couldn't save him. As for the person that Sora knows, a guy who takes pleasure in destroying lives whenever he felt like it...

That scared Kuzco. Despite that he tried to dismiss those claims as he settled next to a rock to sleep despite that it wasn't his royal comfy bed, the llama couldn't help but mutter to himself. "Oh...Why do I get the feeling that weird kid is right? I'm not that Heartless...I'm the world's nicest guy."

Yet somehow, even his own words that used to make him believe he was the world's nicest guy didn't sound right...

Not anymore.

"He's never going to change his mind." Pacha groaned as he rubbed his face, as he, Donald and Goofy sat around the campfire he made while Sora joined them just as he said this.

"I hope he will." Sora muttered, sighing. "As much as I don't like his attitude...I don't want anything bad happen to him. There's gotta be some good in him, right?"

"Glad I'm not the only one who thinks that." Pacha smiled a little. When the trio looked up at him questionly and curiously, he just shrugged. "Well, nobody's that heartless. I mean, I was taught that there was some good in everyone."

That surprised Sora, Donald and Goofy as they shared a glance. Though it was sad that Pacha didn't know that there were very heartless people, like Xehanort and Maleficent, what he had said reminded them of Sora himself and Mickey and how both of them grew up acknowledging in the good in most others.

Kuzco blinked when he heard this, not having intending on overhearing the conversation but, the way how Pacha mentioned this and that Sora...despite his attitude still didn't want anything happen to him made the Emperor think...that maybe he had the spiky-haired kid wrong.

Though none of them knew that tomorrow would be more problems and dangers along the way, or the fact that maybe Kuzco could learn his lesson.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Palace, Kronk, having lost sight of what he carried earlier, returned and lied to his boss Yzma, who was an old woman with pale wrinkled skin, wearing a dark purple dress with a plumage collar, matching head dress and huge purple earrings who had plotted Kuzco's demise and had since taken over the Kingdom.

She was in the throne room with Kronk who was cooking on a small barbecue.

"Kronk, darling. I must admit you had me worried when you mixed up those poisons. But now that Kuzco is dead, all is forgiven." Yzma said cooly, relaxing in her chair.

This only made Kronk nervous as he tried not to show his failure on his expression. "Oh, yeah. Ah...he's-heh heh-he's dead, alright. I mean, you can't get much deader than he... than he is right now. Unless, of course, we killed him again."

"...Kronk." Yzma said, suspiciously as she stood up, approaching her henchman. "Kuzco is dead, right? Tell me Kuzco's dead. I _need_ to hear these words."

"Uh, do you need to hear all those words exactly?" Kronk asked, nervously while spilling the beans.

This was enough for Yzma to flinch in complete shock and no small amount of anger, realizing what this meant. She then growled with clenched teeth, "_**He's still alive!?**_"

"Well, he's not as dead as we would've hoped." Kronk admitted in embarrassment.

"_Kronk...!_" Yzma snarled, her face turning red in anger.

"I just thought I'd give you the heads-up in case Kuzco ever came back."

"He can't come back!"

"Yeah. That would be kind of awkward - especially after that lovely eulogy." Kronk agreed after realizing that Yzma had a point.

"YOU THINK!?" Yzma growled, before grabbing Kronk by the collar and pulled him down to her level. "You and I are going out to find him. If he talks, we are through! _Now,_ _let's,_ _**move!**_"

Yet the little did the two know, they were being spied on by a young man with silver hair and golden eyes, wearing a black coat that belonged to Organization XIII. It was Xehanort from the distant past.

"Hmph..." He muttered to himself before vanishing into a corridor of darkness, leaving to attend important business.

* * *

_Lea's memories..._

_Man, did Axel hate coming back here to this place. Spooky and creepy looking on the outside, white and boring on the inside but a complete maze that didn't seem to end, Castle Oblivion was so mysterious that one would be searching and lost forever if they weren't careful with their sense of directions if they wanted to leave but couldn't._

_He came here more times than he could count; most times was to find clues that he and Saix secretly planned on finding in order to learn the truth of Xemnas's agendas. First time was to eliminate those that got in the way of their plan as well as eliminating the traitors, Marluxia and Larxene who both intended on betraying and taking over the Organization._

_It was also here that he first met Sora. Though it was also the last place Axel saw the black-haired girl who thought they met here, which didn't make sense since he could clearly remember meeting her in Twilight Town for the first time. But was also here...that both she and Namine were born. He had a feeling the black-haired girl was learning of the truth, but what he couldn't understand was why she thought they met here._

_Still, no sense in dwelling in that. What was important was that he and Roxas had to find her, and maybe Castle Oblivion was where she still was._

_"So, this is Castle Oblivion..." Roxas muttered at his new surroundings as he and Axel entered the place. The redhead watched his friend who suddenly began to groan and stumble, alarming him._

_"Roxas!?" Axel gasped, as Roxas began to stumble, holding onto his head with one hand. This happened to the black-haired girl...was it because Roxas was sensing Sora but was overwhelmed?_

_"My...head..." Roxas groaned, becoming dizzy so quickly but still he continued forward._

_"Easy, man." Axel hurried over, suddenly becoming worried despite that he shouldn't be feeling as such, but at the moment he didn't care. It was his friend that mattered to him the most right now. "Let's retreat for now and—"_

_"I'm fine!" Roxas stubbornly replied, attemping to ignore the pain. "We have to...find Xi—"_

_However, the pain only just got worse as Roxas grabbed his head with both hands, the agony and sharp pain becoming too much that he fell onto his knees, crying out. "What's...happening?"_

_"Roxas!" Axel cried out as he immediately went to his friend's side, bending on one knee and gently held the younger Nobody by his shoulders. Whatever was going on with his best friend, it was so painful for Roxas that maybe just the mere presence of this place was effecting him so badly._

_As much as he knew he shouldn't be feeling these emotions, Axel was quickly becoming terrified. Terrified at that moment that he would be losing his friend, and he didn't want that. He already lost a lot prior becoming a Nobody; his parents, his home, his heart...even his first best friend was slowly becoming lost and the black-haired girl...she was on the risk of being lost and Axel didn't want that. He didn't want to lose any of his best friends._

_"So much...rushing into...my head..." Roxas muttered, as he began to lose consciousness._

_"Let's get out of here for now!" Axel told him, unable to handle this anymore. He ignored Roxas's protests and quickly summoned a Corridor of Darkness, easing the younger Nobody carefully..._

* * *

Lea gasped sharply as the sudden memory that came back to him ended so quickly that he held his forehead again, grunting softly as his head hurt once more. Not only it gave him a headache, but it was also making him feel a bit nauseous. He hardly remembered what he thought in that memory, but one thing was vivid and clear...

The mysterious girl with the "X" in her name had been there, or at least Lea and Roxas had thought she was. But somehow Castle Oblivion effected Roxas badly that he passed out from the agony. Could it be that Sora had been there? Most likely, given how that kid had his memories messed up and his original memories must've been flowing into Roxas despite having been moved to Twilight Town for Namine and DiZ to continue restoring Sora's memories without the Organization knowing of his whereabouts.

But seeing Roxas go through that...Lea remembered how scared he felt when he saw that happen, and as a Nobody, he shouldn't have felt it. But he did. It terrified him so much that Lea was afraid that Roxas would just up and disappear. Whatever it was, Castle Oblivion held so many secrets.

And so many dangerous things from within as well, an unusual power that only seemed to effect Roxas and Sora and given that Namine was born there...

The redhead shook his head. Maybe he was overtired after another several months of training despite that it's only been a day or two in the Realm of Light since Riku and King Mickey arrived with not only Lea and Kairi's new garments, but also the news of what was going on while the latter two were here in the Timeless Realm. He'd been resting against a tree in his and Kairi's now usual spot they hanged out after another day of training.

But he hadn't expected another missing memory to return. Standing up, he approached a log and took a seat, gazing at the sunset over the forest below. This view from the cliff up here was soothing and comforting. Though it wasn't like back at Twilight Town, it was better than nothing. He just wished his best friends were here to see it. Kairi had taken time to put on her new outfit which Lea had yet to see.

Though he had yet to do the same. Sure it was to protect him from darkness like his black coat did...but he didn't feel right in changing if he wanted to see Roxas again. Lea had decided that once he had his friends back, then he would ditch the old outfit, to make a fresh start. Or maybe he'll try his on before training ended. He hasn't made up his mind yet.

"Hey, Axel." Kairi called up.

Brought out of his thoughts, the red haired man turned to look and saw Kairi and smiled. Her new dress was pink with pockets and buttons, with frills on each side bottom; one was in different colours while the other was black. Her new hood was also pink with black tiny cat ears. She also wore new silver bracelets and black ankle leather boots. She looked really pretty and very adventurous in her new outfit.

"Hey. Liking the look." Lea said, smiling. He also noticed that Kairi's hair was now shorter and a bit more styled too, and added. "Cut your hair too."

Kairi giggled with a warm smile as she nodded, before asking. "So, you're gonna try yours on?"

"Uuhhhhh...I dunno." Lea replied, gazing at himself. "Maybe later."

"But you always wear the same thing." The teenage girl pointed out.

Lea just shrugged. "If it ain't broken, don't fix it. This is how you pick me out in a crowd. I make myself easy to remember."

"How thoughtful." Kairi replied half-sarcastically.

"Nah, not really." He said, while she approached and took a seat next to him, now both of them much more comfortable. They had gotten so used to training together in this Realm now that they even shared a few more stories, and Lea didn't feel very much uncomfortable around Kairi anymore. She trusted him, worried about him, and even made teasing comments but assuring words as well. It was hard not to like the girl.

Kairi felt the same; she wasn't afraid of Lea anymore. He was playful but wise in his own ways, sweet and kind and caring, and full of determination. He had his own worries too, but then who didn't? She had even come to tell him they were friends now, which caught him off-guard at first, but when she gave him an reassuring smile, he relaxed a bit. It was then she knew that he cared much about his friends and even those who he knew he didn't earn trust from that he'd risk his life to protect them. He had done that a lot.

"Tomorrow we'll be doing the next part of our training." Kairi told him after a short moment of comfortable silence.

"Yeah." Lea replied. Both of them still wondered what it could be since Merlin had been vague about it, apart from that Yen Sid said that it would be a great importance for their training despite the Lea had been used to it, but he would need trust and team work from Kairi who needed more experience from it. They felt it was to do with travelling to other worlds, but wouldn't that mean they needed extra time in the Realm of Light? And what if they end up caught by Organization XIII?

Still, that was worry for tomorrow.

"Somewhere inside me is Namine." Kairi began, changing the subject as she placed her hands to where her heart was. Deep inside where her Nobody was, one that was like Roxas; having a heart of her own. "If we can free Roxas, we can free her too."

Lea nodded in acknowledgement, which allowed Kairi to continue. "Namine was made when Sora freed me from his heart. So, now that she's a part of me again, I figured all was right. But she can't look at this forest, feel the wind on her face, none of it. And if she could, it would be different for her. Her times was short, but she lived it, and that makes it hers."

Kairi felt guilty for assuming that things would be alright. But the longer Namine was inside her after Xemnas' first defeat, the more she felt it was wrong for the other girl to be trapped inside her, and then she began to think that Sora felt the same about Roxas. Namine had done so much, and her final moments was opening a corridor of darkness to help Kairi and the others to escape. She helped Kairi escape that cell in the Castle that Never Was, helped to restore Sora's memory. As far as Kairi was concerned, Namine deserved as much freedom as she did.

"What right did I have to take those feelings and experiences back? They don't belong to me. Nothing's as it should be. Not for her or Roxas." Kairi concluded. She knew then, when Sora discovered he is the one to help others who had lives ruined by Xehanort, Kairi wanted to do anything she could to help Namine.

While she still had no idea what those visions she had earlier were about, but she had a feeling...it was related to Sora, and the Princesses. The question was, why?

"I know." Lea nodded, understanding more than anything. Still, he knew that it wasn't the only thing on his mind and while he felt terrible for forgetting the black-haired girl, he knew that not everyone remembered him.

So he began to explain, "Way back when I was a kid, I met this other weird kid. Somehow we became fast friends. Never saw him again-nearly forgot about him, too. Then, I met Roxas. Couldn't believe it. The two of 'em were identical."

Lea then chuckled, "I didn't tell Roxas, 'cause I didn't him to go vanishin' too." as he leaned back on his hands to look up at the sky. "The kid's name is Ventus. He's one of the lost Keyblade wielders we're looking for."

Kairi blinked in surprise. So Lea met Ventus when he was a boy? It must've been twelve years ago, because according to King Mickey and Master Yen Sid, it was around that time when Ventus's heart vanished and Terra was possessed by Xehanort while Aqua had been trapped in the realm of darkness. Lea would've been no older than fifteen years old; roughly the same age as Kairi herself, Sora and Riku. If she was right, then Lea and Ventus met before the latter ended up vanishing, which made sense considering how the former never saw him again after that.

"Think he's still got me memorized?" The red haired man asked, a little uncertain.

"Oh yeah. Very memorized." Kairi teasingly replied, to show that she wasn't certain since she never met Ventus before. Lea shrugged while leaning forward a bit again.

"Now that we're back, I'm worried about everything." Lea admitted. He was worried; worried that they would end up losing the war, worried that he would never find a way to save his friends or see them again, worried that Kairi and the others would get hurt because of him and he wouldn't be able to keep them safe, worried he would never remember the black-haired girl no matter what he did...

Worried about everything, just as he said.

Kairi gave him a look of reassurance, telling him gently. "Well, you don't have to worry alone anymore, Axel."

Lea looked at Kairi a bit surprised, before smiling a bit. "Thanks, Kairi."

The two new Keyblade Wielders returned their gaze to the view before them, wondering if this would be the last time they would see it. Neither knew what would happen tomorrow or what change their training would be, one thing was for certain, neither of them were alone anymore. Once their training was completed, they would rejoin Sora, Riku, King Mickey, Donald and Goofy and hopefully Ventus, Aqua and Terra, and if they can find a way to bring back Roxas and Namine and find the black-haired girl, they would all be together to defeat Master Xehanort and Organization XIII once and for all.

* * *

**A/N: The length of chapters in this story will be somewhat random, but I didn't want the Kuzco Empire world to be short, so I'm trying to make them as long as possible to match that of Olympus and the future worlds of this story. Can't make promises, though.**

**Hope this chapter was okay, but if there's anything I need to change, like spelling checks and such, please let me know in the reviews. As I said in the past, I'm not the best of writers, but I do my best.**

**But it seems now that the memories within Sora really are beginning to surface, which didn't happen in the real KH3 game like I expected, kinda like the Key to Return Hearts.**

**Anyway, see you in the next chapter!**


	10. Chapter 9: Trusting issues

**A/N: I was meant to update this earlier, but it's been busy for an entire week plus the weekend so I only managed to have today/yesterday off in order to write this. So without further ado, let's continue on! Oh, and by the way, the beginning of this chapter is kind of dark so...brace yourselves, guys.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 9: Trusting issues.

_Sora had no idea where he was or what was happening. He wasn't even certain how he got here to begin with. All he knew was that he was standing on a tall stone platform that towered over a huge desolate land of thousands of rusty fallen Keyblades. The sky was dark, and he wasn't sure if it was darkness covering up the land or if it was just night time._

_"Where am I?" The spiky haired teen asked._

_While his question wasn't answered, what he saw suddenly appear above him made his heart frozen and his blood run cold. The sudden figures of eight familiar bodies and two unfamiliar ones floated skyward in lying down positions, but something was wrong. Their bodies were blue and almost invisible, and hearts hovered above them._

_Sora's eyes widened as he let out a horrified gasp, immediately screaming out to those of his friends that he knew. "Riku! Donald! Goofy! King Mickey! Roxas! Axel! Xion! Ventus!"_

_The other two he didn't recognize; one was a young woman with blue hair, and another...he was a brown haired man whom Sora was quickly certain was Terra. Before Sora could reach them, thirteen black cloaked figures appeared as did a Heartless, what that had a scythe. He quickly summoned his Keyblade to attack, but just as he was about to rush over, one of the figures suddenly vanished from the group and reappeared in front of him, stopping Sora from going any further._

_"Out of my way!" Sora shouted, only to quickly block a dark Keyblade that appeared that appeared in the figure's hand and who had attempted to strike him. As Sora struggled against the dark Keyblade, his eyes trailed up to what was happening behind the figure and could only watch in horror as the Heartless then made a swiping motion, the bodies of five of his friends, his Nobody and the girl all vanish before their hearts were chained up and then absorbed into the Heartless who then vanished._

_"No!" Sora screamed out in aguish, horror and devastation, only for the entire area and the other figures to vanish. Sora soon found himself on the ground surrounded by the Keyblades. "What?"_

_Light then shone down onto him and as Sora looked up, a familiar red haired girl, Kairi, the same as the last time he saw her, stood there looking around in growing fear until she noticed him and smiled in relief. He smiled back, but both smiles faded as the ground shook and a huge black figure emerged from the ground behind her. Kairi tried to run as soon as she saw the figure and Sora tried to reach her, but the figure grasped her almost in an instant and Sora found himself quickly sinking into a corridor of darkness underneath him._

_"Kairi!" Sora cried out, trying to reach her. But he was rapidly sinking further down and was already halfway into becoming lost._

_"Sora!" Kairi screamed, trying to reach out to him, but she was drawn back towards the giant shadow figure who gazed at her with evil eyes, and she was screaming as she began to glow in pink and soon beginning to disappear._

_"KAIRI!" Sora shouted in distraught before his head almost disappeared into darkness and soon his right hand, trying to reach out to her in futile, soon followed and his world went black..._

* * *

"Kairi!" Sora exclaimed as he jolted upright into a sitting position, panting as he awoke from a nightmare. He looked around just as Donald and Goofy yelped in fright as they were rudely awoken from their friend's scream. He blinked in disorientation, slightly covered in cold sweat as he slowly began to return to reality, realizing he was still in the same world he fallen asleep in, in the jungle. Though both Kuzco and Pacha were noticably absent.

"Sora!" Donald cried out as he and Goofy immediately hurried over when they saw him like this.

"Are you okay?" Goofy asked, worriedly.

"D-Donald. Goofy..." Sora panted, feeling almost overwhelmingly relieved to see them, solid, their hearts intact and safe. He felt a bit dizzy over this and sighed shakily. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just...Just had a nightmare."

Though it felt worse than a nightmare. It was...his greatest fears of losing everyone he cared about. All of his friends...especially Kairi. Nothing haunted Sora more than losing his friends, and losing Kairi would shatter his heart and his resolve. He just knew it.

"Oh...You really haven't been yourself lately, Sora." Donald stated worriedly.

"What? Whaddya mean I haven't been myself? How can I be any different? I told you, I'm fine." Sora responded incredulously. "Okay, so I'm seeing Roxas's memories and even both Ventus and Terra, but...I'm still me."

He couldn't help but feel shocked by his own words, though. Had he...really been becoming different due to this? And the nightmare didn't help. Maybe Donald was right. Maybe Sora wasn't being himself lately. Still...he couldn't let anyone worry about him over this. He was needed, and, as soon as he realized it, he had to do everything he could to keep them safe. But first, he had to find the other six pieces of Light to find the Key to Return Hearts and save Aqua, Ventus, Terra, Roxas, Namine and Xion.

Before Donald and Goofy could even continue, the bushes rustled a bit as both Pacha and Kuzco approached in a bit of a hurry.

"Sora, are you alright?" Pacha asked, concerned.

"You nearly gave people a heart attack." Kuzco commented, looking a bit rattled and annoyed.

"Oh, sorry." Sora sheepishly scratched the back of his head, before standing up and explained. "I'm fine. Just had a nightmare."

"This wouldn't happen to be this Kairi person, right?" Kuzco asked, skeptically.

"Uh...Yeah. She's one of my best friends and um...I don't really want to talk about it." Sora replied awkwardly, while Donald gave the llama emperor a suspicious glare.

"Uh-huh." Kuzco deadpanned. "You sure have a lot of nightmares, Sora."

"No, I don't." Sora shook his head as he stood up. "It's complicated."

"Well, maybe a tour around the Kingdom will help get your mind off of the nightmares." The Emperor suggested, which had Sora, Donald and Goofy look at him in surprise, confusion and no small amount of suspicion. "What? I just told Pacha I'm building my Summer home somewhere else after thinking about it last night, okay?"

"Really? That was fast." Sora commented, folding his arms in even more suspicion, and Donald shared that look while Goofy tapped the side of his head, not sure if Kuzco was lying or not.

"He really means it." Pacha assured the trio. "We even shook hands on it. So we're about to head back to the Palace to get him back to normal." Kuzco nodded quickly to confirm it.

A slight pause.

"Um, can you excuse us for a minute?" Sora requested, before he, Donald and Goofy turned around to whisper to themselves about this.

"So...what do you guys think?" The teenage wielder whispered, making sure that Kuzco and Pacha didn't hear.

"There's something screwy about this. I don't trust that llama emperor." Donald whispered back distrustingly.

"But Kuzco and Pacha did shake hands in agreement. So maybe he's tellin' the truth." Goofy softly pointed out. "But with the Heartless around, it'll be too dangerous anyway."

Sora felt uneasy. There was something wrong the way how Kuzco mentioned this and he couldn't shake it off, but at the same time couldn't figure out why he was feeling uncertain. Maybe he's being paranoid. Then again, this isn't the first time someone lied to other people as Sora thought back to the other worlds he visited of similar situations. According to Princess Jasmine and Aladdin in Agrabah, Jafar always lied just to try and become Sultan. Then there was Frollo having lied to Quasimodo back in the Realm of Sleep and even beforehand since the Sleeping Worlds had been trapped in repeating history through dreams and nightmares.

But as Goofy said, Kuzco and Pacha did shake hands. Not to mention the Heartless situation and since the first piece of Light guided Sora and his friends here, they couldn't leave until both the situation is sorted out and they locate the second piece in order to find the Key to Return Hearts to save Aqua, Ventus, Terra, and somehow find a way to save Roxas, Namine and learn more about Xion in order to save her too.

In the end, Sora realized that the only way to find out for sure is to see it for themselves. So he sighed and said to his companions, "Guess we should stick around for a little while longer, just in case."

While Goofy nodded in agreement, Donald gave a mental hopeless sigh while he looked skyward, mentally asking. '_Why me?_' But he knew it was a losing battle. So he grudgingly nodded in agreement before the trio turned back to the duo who were waiting, though Kuzco looked impatient.

"Well, I guess we're in. Plus with the monsters around, it'll be safer in numbers anyway." Sora declared, and Goofy nodded while Donald tried not to show off his distrustful expression.

"Wow, really?" Kuzco asked, surprised.

"Yeah. We help other people." Sora nodded with a friendly smile.

"Alright. Let's go." Pacha smiled in return, before saying to Kuzco. "Oh, by the way, thanks."

Pacha then began to lead the way out of the jungle, with Sora, Donald and Goofy following. Kuzco on the other hand stayed behind a bit as he held a smug smirk. Things couldn't get any better than this, as his secret plan was already working.

"No...Thank you." He muttered to himself, then followed the group to return home and become human again.

But just as they were only about five minutes of walking, they came to a complete stop as they suddenly found themselves surrounded by a bunch of Heartless which had them quickly on alert. While Sora, Donald and Goofy quickly summoned their weapons, Kuzco lets out a girlish scream and surprisingly leaped up so high that he somehow went up to a tree branch above him and held on, holding on for dear life as he quivered in fear.

"These things aren't normal Jaguars! They're Ghost-Monsters!" Kuzco wailed, before pausing as he asked uncertainly and in confusion. "Or is it Monster-Ghosts?"

He then broke the fourth wall and asked to the Author(**me**), "Can I get a little help on what these things are?"

**Nope. Sora and the others will tell you after they beaten them. I'm staying out of this one.**

"Well, you're no help." Kuzco grumbled, glaring in irritation. He then looked down and continued to quiver in fear.

"Pacha, you stay with Kuzco! We'll take care of these things!" Sora told the villager firmly. Pacha nodded and stood by the tree to make sure the terrified Emperor remained safe while Sora and his friends quickly blocked one fairly large Jaguar Heartless from getting to the two. The trio succesfully managed to push it back after hard struggling before Sora tossed his Keyblade at it's head and Donald chanted Thunderaga to zap it into oblivion. Goofy spun around and around to knock away two more Heartless, but some managed to dodge and made their way to attack again.

Sora dodge-rolled before deciding try out the magic of his new clothes. He focused on his power before his clothes changed to a more patterned red and did more faster combos against the Heartless despite no longer being able to wield two Keyblades like he did before Xehanort almost turned him into a vessel. He sensed movement behind him and quickly slashed one of the Jaguar-Heartless that attempted to pounce on him, but never got the chance.

It wasn't long before the trio dispatched the last of the Heartless and sighed in relief, while Pacha, who had to knock away some with a piece of wood that he found close by to protect Kuzco and himself, sighed in relief. The llama emperor on the other hand, found himself a bit stuck, but was a bit too distracted by the fight to even notice at the moment.

"Oookay...that was the craziest thing I've ever seen." The muttered to himself, torn between being amazed and freaked out. That thought was quickly forgotten as he and the others who rejoined underneath him heard a cracking noise and when Kuzco looked to see where it was coming from, his eyes widened in horror as the branch he was on was starting to break due to him being a bit too heavy.

"Uh-oh." He squeaked softly. A micro second later or two...maybe three, the branch broke and he fell screaming.

"Incoming!" Pacha cried out as he, Sora, Donald and Goofy quickly held up their arms to try and catch the falling and screaming Emperor...who ended up falling right on top of them and they all cried out in alarm and pain while all ending up piled up on the ground.

"Ouch!" Donald yelled.

Dazed and a bit surprised to have a soft landing, Kuzco shook his head before standing up and then looked down to see he was on top of the other four who were groaning. He was even more surprised that they had even saved him again.

"Oh." Kuzco muttered, before shrugging. "Thanks for breaking my fall, guys."

"You're welcome." Sora and Pacha both chorused, while Goofy gave Kuzco a thumbs up and his usual chuckle, "Ah-yhuck."

Poor Donald on the other hand, as the others slowly got off from the ground, ended up right underneath all of them and was flat like a pancake with a shocked and comical expression. He then reshaped himself and grumbled in sheer annoyance, tapping the ground with his fingers while his other hand was under his chin as he looked at his friends, Pacha and Kuzco.

"Oh. Sorry, Donald." Sora apologized sheepishly after he and the others realized what just happened. He sheepishly scratched the back of his head while Goofy shrugged and Pacha mouthed 'sorry' as well and even Kuzco cringed.

* * *

About an hour or two later, Pacha, Kuzco, Sora, Donald and Goofy finally emerged from the jungle and out into the open where there was a ravine which the two sides were connected to an old, wooden and thin rope bridge which were covered in vines. On the other side seen in the distance was what Sora, Donald and Goofy correctly assumed was the Palace...which was shaped as a young man's head which they also assumed was what Kuzco really looked like as a human, and the building itself was made out of gold.

"Whoa! It's huge!" Sora exclaimed in awe at the sight of it.

"Gawrsh, I've never seen a palace like that before." Goofy remarked.

"It's different anyway." Donald muttered, admittedly amazed as well.

"Okay. Once we cross this bridge, it's only an hour to the palace." Pacha informed the group with a smile.

"Good, because believe it or not, I think I need a bath." Kuzco replied, with a slight pouting look.

Sora was about to step onto the bridge himself when it gave off an omnious creak that made him freeze in his tracks. He softly gasped and dared to look onto the wood and his eyes widened in shock and growing horror at how old it looked. Apparently both Goofy and Donald realized the same way because they looked at each other worriedly before the trio looked up at the retreating duo.

"Um, are ya' sure this bridge is-"

Goofy didn't get the chance to finish his question when the wooden board underneath Pacha suddenly gave way and snapped. He tumble and fell through the newly made hole as he cried out in alarm, much to the surprise and shock of the others.

"Pacha!" Sora cried out worriedly while Donald yelped and Goofy gasped.

Fortunately Pacha's saving grace were the ropes that came undone when the wood snapped and was now dangling below the bridge and over the impending doom of the ravine below.

"...Safe?" Goofy finished his question, wincing in both worry and horror, half-convinced he somehow jinxed it.

"Kuzco! Sora! Donald! Goofy!" Pacha called up. "Quick, help me up!"

Kuzco just stood there for a moment with his hoove under his chin and smiled.

"We're on our way!" Sora called out, and despite the bridge being far too dangerous and old, he and the others had to risk it in helping Kuzco to get Pacha back up. But as he, Donald and Goofy were about to cross the bridge, a blade suddenly appeared and landed in front of the trio that forced them to stop and stumble back a bit, which also made Kuzco jump and looked back to see what was going on now.

"Still eager to help and trust others, aren't we, Sora?" A chilling familiar voice remarked behind Sora, Donald and Goofy who spun around and their eyes widened as they saw a Corridor of Darkness appear and the one who spoke emerged, revealing a familiar white-haired young man with golden eyes and in a black coat; Xehanort from the past, one that Sora first encountered during the Mark of Mastery.

"You!" Sora snarled angrily, quickly summoning his Keyblade while both Donald and Goofy summoned their weapons once more. "You're one of the Xehanorts from the past!"

"I'm honored that you still remember me." Young Xehanort replied, smirking coldly. "Yet it is intriguing that you never trusted me, but you and that villager trust that arragont Emperor who is just as gulliable as both of you."

Pacha could hear what was going on, and then called up to Kuzco once more. "Help me up! We have to help Sora, Donald and Goofy!"

To his, Sora, Donald and Goofy's shock, Kuzco just hopped over the hole and told Pacha smugly. "No, I don't think I will."

"What?!" Sora exclaimed, shocked before realizing that he and his two friends had been right. '_Ugh! That selfish emperor!_' He thought angrily, but tried to hold it in.

"Are you just going to leave me here and the others to handle that strange man?" Pacha asked incredulously at the sudden betrayal.

"Well, I was going to have you imprisoned for life, but I kind of like this better." Kuzco admitted.

"I knew he was no good!" Donald grumbled, while still facing Young Xehanort who's own smirk grew wider and colder.

"I thought you were a changed man!" Pacha growled angrily.

Kuzco shrugged, "Oh, come on, I had to say something to get you to take me back to the city."

"So all of it was a lie!?"

"Well, yeah. Uh, no wait." Kuzco paused, pretending thinking for a moment as he paused, then said smugly. "Oh yeah, yeah. It was all a lie. Toodles!"

He then turned away and was about to began walking down the bridge again when he stopped at Pacha's voice.

"WE SHOOK HANDS ON IT!" Pacha yelled furiously.

"See? All of you are gullible and naive." Young Xehanort declared to the trio who turned to glare at him once more.

"Enough!" Sora snapped. "What would you know about this anyway?"

"Ignorance can lead to ultimate betrayal, especially among friends and supposedly trust-worthy advisors." Young Xehanort said nonchalantly.

Sora growled, while behind him he heard Kuzco point out Pacha, "You know, the funny thing about shaking hands is...you need hands."

The emperor then laughed and then said to Sora's group, "Oh and good luck handling that weird yellow-eyed guy, guys. You're gonna need it. Okay. Buh-bye!"

But as Kuzco was about to leave again, the wood underneath him snapped away and he ended up falling through himself, screaming for a short moment before ending up in the same situation as Pacha, facing upward and vines around his mouth as well. He held a dumbfounded and shell-shocked expression at what just happened.

"Are you okay? You all right?" Pacha asked, concerned.

"Yeah." Kuzco said, awkwardly. "Yeah, I think I'm all right."

"Good!" Pacha snapped, before punching Kuzco so hard the latter spun around until the vines were all over him except his mouth. "That's for going back on your promise!"

Kuzco responded by kicking him in the stomach while hanging onto the vines and moved back and forth as though he was on a swing. "Yeah? well that's for kidnapping me and taking me to your village-which I'm still gonna destroy, by the way." He laughed before he stopped as he then frowned in worry. "No touchy."

Pacha came back and head-butted Kuzco in the stomach so hard that the latter ended up crashing into the opposite wall and cringed, while the former swung back to the other side, glaring angrily at him. Sora, Donald and Goofy stared in shock and bewilderment, while Young Xehanort watched in amusement.

"I don't think Pacha was meant to do that." Sora muttered worriedly.

"Me neither." Goofy muttered.

"Well, it's all Kuzco's fault." Donald grumbled under his breath.

"It seems the darkness is getting to both of them." Young Xehanort remarked, summoning his Keyblade and made to attack. But Sora and the others quickly blocked it, but were struggling due to him being rather stronger than all three of them together.

"Why are you doing this!?" Sora demanded.

"I'll tell you why; There is a darkness in one of the worlds we must reclaim. This world holds a clue in locating it. It is in a place where no one, not even that Emperor knows about. I wonder how long it will take before you all learn to accept the real truth of one's heart." Young Xehanort explained.

"Why did I risk my life for a selfish brat like you?" Pacha asked both Kuzco and himself in anger. "I was always taught that there's some good in everyone, but oh, you proved me wrong."

Kuzco faked sympathy and guilt as he mocked. "Oh, boo-hoo! Now I feel really bad. Bad llama."

"I could've let you die out there in that jungle, and then all my problems would be over."

"Well, that makes you ugly and stupid."

"Let's end this." Pacha growled.

"Ladies first." Kuzco challenged.

Both Pacha and Kuzco threw themselves and swung straight towards each other in while their arms and legs frailed. Colliding into each other in the middle, they slugged it out with punches and kicks, occasional bites and pokes in the face and pulling ears, followed by a head-butted went flying. Sora and Goofy both watched in horror as they and Donald who looked bemused continued to try and hold Young Xehanort back while the said enemy quirked an eyebrow at the display, admittedly a bit dumbfounded himself.

All fighting suddenly ceased when the six of them heard a cracking sound. Kuzco and Pacha looked up while Sora, Donald and Goofy looked behind them and Young Xehanort looked ahead, all their gaze onto the bridge which all of the sudden splintered and coming apart, the ropes and pieces of wood flying and falling everywhere until the entire bridge was nothing more than pieces of wood and vines and fell away.

Pacha and Kuzco remained in the air long enough to share a glance of sudden shock and horror before they ended up falling and screamed as they went.

"Kuzco! Pacha!" Sora cried out, as he and his friends tried to push Young Xehanort back further.

"Why don't you go join them? See how your trust leads you to your downfall." The silver-haired man mocked, and shoved the trio back so hard that Sora, Donald and Goofy fell backwards and into the ravine themselves before he vanished into another Corridor of Darkness.

The trio fell screaming, Donald and Goofy in panic and Sora trying to scan for away out of this mess, quickly noticing a tree branch with rope on it and from the remains of the bridge. Sora grabbed hold of the rope with one hand, and used the other to grab Goofy's hand. Goofy, seeing this quickly grabbed hold of one of Donald's legs and the trio ended up hanging there in the sudden Trinity Ladder.

Kuzco and Pacha in the meantime tumbled against the cliff walls before the back of their heads were smacked into each other as they grunted, "Ow! Ow!"

They then caught the walls with their feet and skid to a stop, briefly stuck and hanging between the walls, and the ravine just below them since the cliffs broke apart underneath. They leaned against each other's backs, lucky enough to not have fallen into the river, but a pack of crocodiles, seeing this as an easy meal for them today, swum over and floated just beneath the duo, ready to take a bite or two out of them and three others.

"Uh-oh." Sora muttered, fearfully. They had to find a way out of this or all five of them(six if you're including Jiminy) were crocodile chow.

"Gawrsh!" Goofy trembled in fear.

"What are we gonna do!?" Donald screamed, panicking hysterically.

Sora grunted, saying, "Well, if Kuzco and Pacha can somehow climb up to us, I think I can pull us all up to safety." gazing at the rope in his hand he was holding onto while silently praying that the rope and/or the tree branch didn't break on him. '_Please don't break, please don't break, please don't break...!_'

"What are we gonna do? Ah!" Kuzco wailed in fear, not wanting to get eaten by the reptiles below. "What are we gonna do? We're gonna die! We're gonna die! That's it for me!"

Pacha looked up as he tried to figure out a way out and saw Sora holding onto both his friends and the rope and realized what has to be done. "No, we're not. Calm down. I have an idea."

He mounted his feet onto the wall firmly, before linking both his arms with Kuzco's and having the younger man in llama form mount his feet onto the wall as well and he hoisted both of them up.

"When I say go, push against my back, and we'll walk up the hill. Ready?" Pacha explained, and when Kuzco shook his head, he continued. "Go."

He pushed back, but accidentally shoved Kuzco into the wall, causing the latter to whine, "Ow! You did that on purpose" and shoved Pacha into the opposite wall.

"No, I didn't!" Pacha grunted. "Now, we're gonna have to work together to get out of this. See those guys up there? Sora's holding the rope. That's our way outta here, but they need us to reach them. So follow my lead." He shoved back until they were both back in centre. "Ready? Right foot."

"Whose right?" Kuzco asked while putting into his work. "Y-Your right, or mine?"

"I don't care. Mine." Pacha answered.

"Oh, why yours?" The emperor whined.

Pacha resisted the urge to roll his eyes and responded in grudging defeat. "Okay, your right."

"Okay, got it." Kuzco replied, satisfied.

"Okay. Right, left, right." Pacha directed, making sure both their steps were in line as they began to make their way up.

"Hey, they're walkin' up the hill!" Goofy cried out in relief, while Donald blinked in surprise.

"All right! Nice work, guys!" Sora cheered, grinning and while he was still angry with Kuzco, Sora himself wasn't heartless. Not like Xehanort who was willing to destroy any and all lives just to get what he wants. Okay, so Kuzco was a bit like that, but still...

"Look, we're movin'!" Kuzco said in relief, only to look down and saw the crocodiles who roared, still waiting for all of them to fall down. The young emperor screamed in terror.

"Don't look down!" Pacha told him to calm him down. "Now stay with me, stay with me." and they both continued upward. "Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right...!"

Right up until they realized they couldn't move any longer after extending themselves as far as they could with their arms still linked, and were straining while trying not to let go or fall down. Sora, Donald and Goofy winched at this and shared a worried look.

"Now what, genius?" Kuzco snarked while trying not to let go to avoid in falling and becoming lunch.

"Working on it." Pacha replied, then seeing how Donald was just above them thought up another risky plan. "Okay, here's the deal. Stretch out your neck and I'll grab hold of Donald's hands..."

Kuzco's eyes widened before he asked suspiciously, "How do I know you won't let me fall after you grab the duck?"

"You're just gonna have to trust me!" Pacha groaned in exasperation.

"Stop arguing and just do it!" Sora snapped impatiently.

Kuzco mentally groaned in taking orders, but decided that there wasn't much choice if he wanted to survive this. So he pushed Pacha up first with his hooves, then with his head behind the older man's back while stretching out his long neck to push him up further, straining as he went.

"You know, it's a good thing you're not a big, fat guy, or this would be really difficult." Kuzco remarked sarcastically as he struggled to push Pacha up while the latter swung his arm out to Donald who tried to do the same, and both Goofy and Sora strained in holding their positions without letting go despite the sudden realization of the extra weight. But it was the only chance they had.

The others ignored him and after a final stretch, Donald and Pacha's hands grasped. The group sighed in relief, before Sora went to the next phase and tugged the rope to begin the next difficult part in climbing to safety...only to notice another problem. No matter how hard he pulled, the rope wouldn't budge from the branch.

"Oh, great." He groaned, continuing to try and pull the rope free while the leaves were shaken off at the same time...along with something else he didn't even realize. "The rope's stuck." He called down to the others.

"Take your time, Sora." Kuzco strained sarcastically. "No hurry here."

He then felt something land on his neck, something moving. When Kuzco looked, his eyes widened at the sight of a few orange scorpions with sharp jaws, claws and stingers crawling up towards his face, much to his horror.

"Scorpions! Aah ha ha!" He screamed and jumped, only to lose his position and began to fall, much to the horror of the others.

"Kuzco!" Pacha cried out, quickly grabbing Kuzco's legs to save him just in time despite what the latter intending on doing. Kuzco yelled in alarm as he swung unexpectedly towards the wall and ended up getting his mouth stuck into the small hole.

"What was he screaming about?" Donald asked, just as Sora grunted as the branch snapped forward and touched him by the back.

It wasn't until Sora felt several creepy crawlies on his neck and trail down into his clothes, and some fell onto Goofy, Donald and Pacha that all four of them saw what Kuzco was screaming about. Seeing the Scorpions now on their bodies, their eyes widened and their pupiles shrank in pure horror before they all screamed, not wanting to be stung by the insects.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Sora screamed, "Get 'em off! Get 'em off!"

Without much choice, Sora and Pacha both smacked themselves into the wall behind them to squish the insects while Goofy and Donald tried to shake the Scorpions off of them. While this was going on, the banging and noise shook the wall and while Kuzco could see both inside and a bit of outside of the hole, his eyes widened when he saw red eyes suddenly appear which was then he realized that it was a bunch of bats. The noise had woken them up and, disturbed, began to fly towards him.

Kuzco screamed as due to blocking the exit, the bats flew into his mouth before he was pushed back, letting the bats fly free and swooped right underneath him. The bats carried Kuzco, Pacha, Donald, Goofy and Sora up into the air while the latter let go of the rope and they were all flying flying and somersaulting. They cried out in alarm before the next thing they knew, they landed perfectly back on the side where they came from before having crossed the bridge as though the entire incident never even happened.

Everyone glanced at each other in surprise, especially since the bats had unexpectedly helped them get back to soild ground and to safety.

"...Okay." Sora muttered blankly, then sheepishly chuckled. "Not what I had in mind, but...Oh well."

"Phew...Safe at last." Donald sighed in relief.

"That was close." Goofy wiped non-existant sweat from his forehead while both Kuzco and Pacha chuckled nervously at the unexpected safe, just before all five of them felt the earth shake once more and looked down to see, to their horror, the canyon wall crumble underneath Pacha who stumbled.

"Look out!" Kuzco cried out and quickly grabbed him by the poncho and pulled him back away from the edge and into Sora's group just as the fallen pieces of earth fell into the ravine. The emperor then cheered victoriously, "Whoo! Yeah! Oh, look at me and my bad self. I snatched you right out of the air."

He then mocked the cliff, "_'Oh, I'm a crumbling canyon wall and I'm taking you with me'_." before saying smugly with a smirk, "Well, not today, pal! Uh-huh! Uh-huh, uh-huh!"

While Kuzco strutted proudly, Pacha, Sora, Donald and Goofy stared at him in shock and disbelief before Sora smiled a small smirk while Donald blinked in shock and Goofy smiled a little as well, knowing that Kuzco wasn't anywhere near close to Xehanort after all.

"You just saved my life." Pacha muttered in surprise.

"Huh?" Kuzco muttered, before realizing what the villager said and said blankly. "So?"

"I knew it." Pacha said with a smirk.

"Knew what?" Kuzco asked.

"That there is some good in you after all."

"Oh, no!"

"Admit it!"

"Wrong!"

"Yes, there is."

"Nuh-uh!"

"I think there is."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Hey, you could've let me fall."

"Come on, what's the big deal? Nobody's that heartless!" Kuzco cried out before gasping and shut his mouth, realizing that was the exact same thing Pacha said to Sora, Donald and Goofy the previous night, but by their smug looks, it was already too late to take back his words.

"Well, I knew there was good in you too. You just had to prove it, which you did." Sora chuckled, placing his hands behind his head, while Goofy and even Donald chuckled.

"Don't read too much into it." Kuzco insisted with his usual expression. "It was a one-time thing."

"Right, sure." Pacha shrugged, not buying the words. He then informed the group. "Well, we better get going. With that bridge out, it's a four-day walk to the palace." He then began to walk back into the jungle with Sora, Donald and Goofy nodding and began to follow.

"What?" Kuzco asked, surprised which made them stop and turn back to him as he continued incredulously, given what he attempted to do to them. "You mean you're still taking me back?"

"I shook on it, didn't I?" Pacha replied with another shrug.

"And there's no way we're leaving yet either." Sora added, with his friends nodding in agreement. "Besides, I am looking forward to that tour and there's no point in not helping you to get back home, right?"

"Well, yeah, but I hope you guys realize that doesn't change a thing. I'm still building Kuzcotopia when I get back." Kuzco, while taken aback, stated to the four of them.

"Four days is a long time." Donald pointed out, still hesitant in helping the Emperor despite that the latter had saved Pacha's life.

"He's right." Pacha said in agreement. "Who knows? Maybe you'll change your mind."

"Uh-huh." Kuzco said sarcastically while rolling his eyes as he followed the group to another path to return home. "Four days...what are the chances of either of you carrying me?"

"Not good." Pacha sighed in slight exasperation.

'_This is gonna be four, long days._' Sora sighed, but he still smiled a little proudly at Kuzco. While what Young Xehanort said did borther him, he decided to not let it get to him. Especially since the Emperor did prove to have some bit of light within his heart. On the other hand, the other thing that the past self of the man who caused the entire mess to begin had said did get to him a little.

_"Yet it is intriguing that you never trusted me, but you and that villager trust that arragont Emperor who is just as gulliable as both of you. Ignorance can lead to ultimate betrayal, especially among friends and supposedly trust-worthy advisors." _

'_Betrayal of...trust worthy advisors?_' Sora thought to himself as he walked. He thought back of what Kuzco told him and the others last night, about his former advisor named Yzma who apparently has this Secret Lab with stuff, and suddenly he came to a shocking thought that he quickly hoped was wrong, but at the same time wasn't that far-fetched.

'_Could this Yzma person be behind Kuzco's sudden transformation into a llama?_' Sora hoped that he was wrong.

But he couldn't think of another reason that made sense. Though that left the question of...why. If Yzma was the culprit, why did she turn Kuzco into a llama and dump him into the jungle?

Unless doing so wasn't the plan at all if she wanted to get rid of him for some reason, or just for evil purposes. The memories of Jafar trying to overthrow the Sultan and Jasmine in Agrabah came back to Sora, and this seemed a bit similar to that time all of the sudden.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the Timeless Realm, Kairi and Lea had practiced a bit more before meeting up with Merlin who was informing them of what the next part of their training would be, under request by Master Yen Sid. The two new Keyblade Wielders had been admittedly anxious on what their next task would be and why it would help them to further complete it.

What they were hearing was nothing what the two had been expecting.

"Huh?" Kairi asked, bemused while Lea's widened in disbelief. "Travel to other worlds in this world?"

"Indeed. Master Yen Sid had requested that as part of your training in order to fully become true Keyblade Wielders, one must also know how to understand the responsibility and for the World Order's safety. The worlds you will be visiting will be illusions real enough for you two to mistake them as real worlds and people. But the Order must still be kept, so you can't tell them where you are from or that there are other worlds." The Wizard explained.

"Whoa, there. Are you sayin' that this place has illusion worlds? Kinda like...worlds based on memories in Castle Oblivion?" Lea rephrased. "I didn't know there were illusion worlds here."

"Actually, some worlds are based on a few memories or more." Merlin admitted sheepishly. "I forgot to tell you that. Sorry."

Both Kairi and Lea shared a bit of a nervous and uncertain glance, then turned back to their tutor as the former asked gently, "Merlin, what will we be doing in these worlds?"

"Quite simple, my dear." Merlin began. "You will be fighting the illusions of heartless and make sure the darkness doesn't cause harm to anyone. Also trust in each other and work together as friends and allies. You both had done a remarkable job so far, but the real test is working together in future trails as well as the upcoming battle ahead of you and your friends."

"Annnnd, how do we pass?" Lea asked, skeptically.

Merlin thought a moment, before answering. "Well, you have to find these Keyholes to continue on once the problems in each world you will visit are solved. There are seven you must find. Once you do that, your training will be complete. And if there are any problems, I will be right there to help you in a tight spot."

Despite that it sounded a bit easy, both Kairi and Lea knew that it was going to be harder than that. The latter felt like this was similar to Sora and Riku's task in awakening seven Sleeping Worlds for the Mark of Mastery exam. In fact, the more simple it sounded, the more Lea thought of how Xehanort and his true Organization XIII hijacked the exam to try and make either Sora or Riku their final vessel for Xehanort's heart, and the redhead couldn't help but worry that if they knew about this, then they would no doubt try and get to either him or Kairi...

Especially Kairi considering she's now not only a Princess of Heart, but a Keyblade Wielder. Which meant that double risked her safety if Xehanort would get to her in order to forge the X-Blade. The thought of her being captured made Lea feel extremely uneasy. And who's to say that Lea himself could not be targeted himself and being forced to join their ranks like Isa ended up being? Still, they couldn't back out from this now. Not with the Keyblade War coming up, and with Sora, Donald and Goofy busy finding the Key to Return Hearts while Riku and King Mickey were looking for the corrupted Aqua to try and turn her back to normal.

Kairi felt the similar unease, and was thinking along the same lines. Plus she had a bit of a bad night's sleep since what she saw earlier before she tried on her new clothes and just after Lea requested her to call him Axel had began to haunt her in her dreams. The lights which included her own and Sora would dim and/or scatter which made her a bit scared. But she knew that she had to be ready. Kairi didn't want to be the damsel in distress anymore, and she wanted to help other people, and protect her friends. No matter what.

In the end, the two nodded firmly after sharing a look of determination.

"Now then, are you two ready?" The Wizard questioned.

"Yes." Kairi nodded.

"Yeah. Let's jump right in." Lea added.

"Splendid. Now, the entry point is in the forest below where you usually look out during your resting times. Once you find that, hold out your Keyblades and it will take your to your first destination. Once you find all of the Keyholes, you will return here and then your training will be complete. Be careful and good luck to both of you." Merlin advised.

"Thank you, Merlin." Kairi replied as she and Lea both bowed, then nodded.

"Alright, let's get goin'." The red haired man declared.

"Yeah." Kairi replied, as she followed him down the path from their resting town while Merlin then poofed away to report to Master Yen Sid that the latest part of the two's training was underway.

Fully unaware that as Merlin appeared back in the Realm of Light at the entry point of the Timeless Realm, that the same ragged figure that spied on both Riku and Mickey had seen this and once the wizard had walked off to enter Radiant Garden, the figure silently cackled to herself.

"So, that's what Merlin has been up to. I do wonder where that leads. Ooh, this will be fun." The ragged person smirked to herself, sounding like an old hag-woman, before she disappeared into a cloud of dark dust.

Which meant that both Kairi and Lea's training was already about to get hijacked. This time not by Organization XIII.

* * *

**A/N: Hope I did okay with this chapter. The much more devastating parts from the real KH3 game will be in form of nightmares in this story, because, well...you'll see. Just have to work on which Disney worlds Kairi and Lea will be visiting in the Timeless Realm as well as which worlds Riku and Mickey will be going to after Sora, Donald and Goofy's adventures in Kuzco's Empire.**

**(Kuzco suddenly appears next to me)**

**A/N: AHHH! (Angrily to Kuzco) KUZCO!**

**Kuzco: (Sheepishly) Uh, heh heh. Hi. Excuse me. Two seconds here. Um, I'm the one turned into a llama. Remember? This world's story is about me. Okay. You got it? All right. We're gonna move ahead. Sorry to slow you down.**

**(Kuzco then leaves, then reappears and holds up a picture of Yzma and draws a red mustache with a super long beard down to the ground and half-way from her, plus a cane and a cowboy's hat)**

**A/N: (Sternly) Ahem...!**

**(Kuzco looks, then smiles nervously)**

**Kuzco: (Chuckling nervously) Heh heh heh.**

**(He then disappears)**

**A/N: *Sighs* Sorry about that. Not that I don't blame him for drawing over Yzma's picture, but still...Anyway, see you in the next chapter!**


	11. Chapter 10: Knowing who to Trust

**A/N: Sorry for the lateness again. I tried updating this sooner, but things was again crazy, and I've been caught up with this year's E3 event, which I have some good news and bad news.**

**Good news: KH3 ReMIND has a new trailer out and is said to be released this Winter(if it's not delayed :P) Riku and Aqua will once again be playable and Roxas will be playable as well, along with new in-story cutscenes, and FFVIII is getting a Remaster and is being released for PS4 and Nintendo Switch this year! Oh, and Cloud's KH attire and Leon's KH attire are both in Dissidia NT!**

**Bad news: All of the English Voice actors of FFVII have been replaced in the Remake(and thus Steve Burton, the icon voice of Cloud Strife will no longer voice him post Dissidia NT and the last time he voiced him in the DLC recently released. T_T)**

**Anywho, this chapter will celebrate the release of the ReMind Trailer!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 10: Knowing who to Trust.

Meanwhile, back in Kuzco's Empire, deep within the Jungle filled with both safe and dangerous wildlife was normally filled with eerie silence and sometimes the sounds of cries of victims who were attacked should they ever stumble here. For now though, it was quiet...

"AGRRRRAAAHHH!" A blood curdling scream filled the air, followed by a surprised yelp in another spot of the jungle not too far away, and the second scream belonged to Pete who was running away as quickly as possible from a swarm of bees when he accidentally bashed a tree with a Bee-Hive and was now suffering the consequences, with an unamused Maleficent watching her idiot-of-an-minion making a fool of himself, running back and forth.

Well...not as quiet as one would think.

"Hey! Get outta here, bees! OW!" Pete yelled before being stung multiple times as he ran away from the bees, but could not escape their stingers and was quickly becoming a pin cushion. "Uh, Maleficent? A little help here!" He cried out to his boss.

"Stop your foolishness, you buffoon. We are wasting time in this jungle." Maleficent scolded, close in losing her temper and she was starting to get a headache by not only Pete's screaming, but also the screaming of, what she assumed, another woman nearby and given the wildlife here, she was suffering the same thing.

* * *

Which was true because on the other side of the trees, was none other than Yzma who was suffering the same fate after losing her shoes to sticky mud, while Kronk was busy examining a fat bird and taking no notice of his own boss's situation behind him.

"Oh, look. A golden-throated small-winged warbler. Just one more for exotic bird bingo." Kronk was saying to himself, writing on the notepad he'd brought with. "I am loving this."

* * *

Finally after what seemed like forever, Pete (and Yzma ironically) ended up slipping into a slippery part of the mud and fell face first into the mud and laid there while the bees buzzed off, no longer interested. The big cat laid still for a moment before pushing himself up, his face comically stuck and stretched before he finally managed to free himself, but was now covered in sticky wet soil and in a sour mood.

"I hate this jungle." He grumbled in irritation.

"If you are done, we are best to move on." Maleficent said, in equal irritation.

"Hey, not my fault this dump is a mess." Pete retorted as he stood up while wipe off as much mud as he could. "Why are we here anyways? We ain't gonna find that book in a middle of nowhere."

"Every location is possible to find what we are searching for." The evil witch replied. "And as such, we are not the only ones searching, but the ones who are, they are looking for another reason."

This only made Pete confused. "Are ya' talkin' about the old lady who's been screaming at the same time as me? Why would she waste her time here and what's she looking for?"

"It's not the matter of what, but of who. Her heart is clouded in darkness, and her search brings her here for a perfect reason, and as such, Sora and his friends would be here as well, without a doubt." She explained.

"But those pipsqueaks ain't gonna help us find that Book of Prophecies. We're not gonna follow them, are we?" Pete pointed out with a shrug. If there was one thing he had known for a long time, it was that Sora's group and King Mickey would never allow themselves to help any villains.

"Who says we are following them to seek their aid? This distraction will allow us to infiltrate the Palace of this world." Maleficent answered, while opening a Corridor of Darkness and calmly stepped inside. Pete stood there for half a second before quickly following so that he wasn't left behind.

At the same time as Yzma and Kronk were heading in another direction with a lead...thanks to a little Squirrel.

* * *

It took a while as Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kuzco and Pacha traveled through the jungle on another track towards the Palace, the former trio taking out Heartless along the way for safe passage. By within an hour, Kuzco complained about being tired, something about having low blood sugar and so Pacha had been carrying him for most of the time as the five of them approached a building called the Mudka's Resturant, but saw that the sign had 'No Llamas Allowed' which was just a picture of one marked out.

However, both Kuzco and Pacha had come up with an idea to disguise the former with Pacha's hat and poncho, and putting on make-up, with the Llama Emperor now dressed as a woman. The two sat on one table near the window, and Sora, Donald and Goofy on the other side of the room at another, looking uneasy and disturbed due to their new friends' acting like a married couple.

"This is exasperating." Donald whispered, as he and his two companions cringed.

"Well, at least it's workin'." Goofy pointed out softly.

"When this is over, remind me to never mention this to Riku and Kairi." Sora whispered, feeling very uncomfortable. Shaking his head, he turned his attention to the menu, muttering. "Anyway, let's eat something and then move on."

"I need two heartburns and a deep-fried doorstop on table twelve!" The witress called out, which caused both Kuzco and Pacha to burst out laughing, and the trio to share bewildered glances before Sora ended up trying to hide his own laughter behind his hand, soon followed by Donald and Goofy when they caught on the joke seconds later.

Soon the laughter ceased as the trio then returned their attentions to their menus...which given their expressions that soon turned from amusement into shock and slight disgust, nothing seemed evene edible.

"...Hot and Crispy Pillbug?" Sora whispered, bemused. That sounded gross.

When Sora and his friends looked up and saw the waitress return with Kuzco and Pacha's meals, the trio saw that it was more gross than it sounded. It was two giant blue beetles having been cooked and Pacha grabbed a straw and tapped at the beetle, which unrolled itself and revealed yellow gooey...stuff, that was molten and steaming. He smelled it happily before digging in by sucking the yellow mush like a milk-shake.

Sora covered his mouth with his hand, resisting the urge to throw up, Donald looked green in the face and Goofy looked in confusion before gazing at his friends with an uneasy look. Kuzco on the other hand mimicked Sora's movement and coughed in disgust as Pacha opened up his 'meal' before the Emperor slid off the bench.

"Where are you going?" Pacha asked, with his mouthful of food.

"I'm just going to slip into the kitchen and have a word with the chef." Kuzco replied.

Pacha swallowed his food and whispered quickly, "You're gonna get us kicked out."

"Please." Kuzco smirked confidently. "With this disguise, I'm invisible." before moving down on four hooves into the kitchen, Thankfully, no one noticed this either, though it did make the rest of the group uncomfortable.

In the meantime, Sora, Donald and Goofy decided to settle for chili cheese samplers and onion rings and gave out their orders to the same lady when she approached them, just as an old wrinkly, skinny-scary looking woman and a muscular black-haired man strode into the diner and took a seat at the booth behind Pacha, unaware of the trio who noticed them and cringed.

'_Man...don't know who she is, but she's scary beyond all reason._' Sora thought to himself. He noticed at how many wrinkles the lady had and briefly wondered what was holding her together.

"We've been walking around in circles for who knows how long. That is the last time we take directions from a squirrel." The old woman, Yzma, hissed angrily which was caught on by Sora's group who's eyes widened as they gazed at her without her or the man noticing at the mention of the squirrel. Their shock grew as she continued, "I should have done away with Kuzco myself when I had the chance."

Sora let out a soft gasp as he tried to not let anyone hear him, Goofy let out a shocked and horrified but thankfully soft gasp, 'Gawrsh!' and Donald nearly choked on his glass of water, and even Pacha nearly choked on his beetle, coughing as he tried to get it down quickly.

"Oh, you really gotta stop beating yourself up about that." Kronk said to try and cool her down. Yzma only bend her fork in anger since his words didn't effect her mood at all. "Uh-oh. I'll get you another one there, Yzma."

That sent even more shockwaves in the four as they tried to hide it. Sora, Donald and Goofy quickly looked away and whispered among themselves and hoped that Pacha wouldn't get caught.

"That's gotta be Kuzco's old advisor." Goofy whispered worriedly.

"And she turned him into a Llama." Donald whispered in agreement angrily.

"But...that wasn't part of the plan. She must be trying to get rid of Kuzco and kill him." Sora whispered in concern and realization, knowing that he'd been right about what he thought of earlier, and he wished that he wasn't. "It's like Xehanort said; '_the ultimate betrayal of trust-worthy advisors_'."

"You're not gonna listen to him now, are ya?" Goofy asked as he and Donald both stared at the teenager incredulously.

Sora blinked, before quickly denying. "What? No! Of course not! It's just I couldn't think of another answer of how Kuzco turned into a you-know-what in the first place that made sense, and honestly, I was hoping that I was wrong about Yzma."

The conversation came to a halt when the trio caught Pacha quickly head into the kitchen, and it didn't take Sora, Donald and Goofy long to realize that he was about to sneak into the kitchen to warn Kuzco and get him out of here before Yzma and Kronk realized that their target was here as their meals came in. Nervously gazing at the two villains again after thanking the waitress, the trio ate their meals as quickly as possible which were surprisingly delicious, and were just about to enter the kitchen themselves when Kronk stood up and made his way into the kitchen himself.

Their stomachs dropped as minutes later which seemed to take forever, Yzma stood up after asking herself impatiently as she was hungry herself, "What is he doing in there?" and headed towards the Kitchen herself.

Thankfully, just as Yzma entered, Kuzco came out, only to head back instead when she came out seconds later and completely unaware of each other while another guy stormed out carrying a suitcase earlier. This went on back and forth as apparently Kronk is the new chef as the old one quit while Pacha tried to get to Kuzco but had to hide himself to avoid in being seen. Sora and his friends watched on in shock before sharing another glance, wondering if they should try and get Kuzco out themselves or not.

Finally, both of them made their final orders and returned to their respective tables, looking at their menus and still unaware of each other. Moments later, Pacha silently came out of the kitchen and then noticed a witress before whispering to her about something, which Sora, Donald and Goofy noticed before they realized what he was doing.

"Okay, as soon as Yzma's distracted, the four of us get Kuzco and get outta here." Sora whispered to his friends who nodded in firm agreement and then they shuddered worriedly when Yzma noticed the 'woman' in the opposite table and quirked an eye-brow at how dressed 'she' was. There was something strangely familiar about her, but the older woman couldn't figure out why.

"One! Two! Three! Four!" Yzma's thoughts were quickly interrupted when she looked and nearly jumped out of her skin with a startled scream as five waiters, one of them holding a cake, began to sing directly at her. "~_Happy, happy birthday from all of us to you. We wish it was our birthday so we could party, too. Happy, happy birthday, may all your dreams come true_...~"

This was the distraction the group needed, as while Kuzco looked from behind his menu as he wondered what was going on, Pacha, Sora, Donald and Goofy snuck up and snatched him before they all quickly and silently raced out of the resturant all the while Yzma was given a sombreo as well as the delicious looking cake in sheer annoyance.

Kronk, hearing this, laughed as he came out and asked his boss happily, "It's your birthday?" while the waiters continued to sing.

* * *

The group made outside and hidden themselves behind the wall and while most of them sighed in sheer relief, Kuzco demanded in confusion and annoyance given that he still hasn't eaten anything. "What are you doing?"

"Look, there's two people in there looking for you." Pacha explained.

"What?" Kuzco blinked.

"A big guy and a skinny old woman." Pacha elaborated, and Sora, Donald and Goofy nodded quickly.

"Wait." Kuzco began as he suddenly recognized the description. "Was this woman scary beyond all reason?"

"Oh yeah." Pacha replied, agreeing with the description.

"There's no other way to describe her." Sora nodded, knowing that the emperor just spoke what he thought earlier.

"So scary that you'll have nightmares." Goofy agreed.

"You said it." Donald shuddered violently at the thought.

This instantly lit up Kuzco's face as he quickly wiped off the make up and cheered, recognizing the description. "That's Yzma and Kronk! I'm saved!"

"Trust me, they're not here to save you!" Pacha pointed out, but Kuzco didn't listen.

"They'll take me back to the Palace." The emperor continued, and began to walk away, saying to the group. "Thanks for your help. You've been great. I can take it from here..."

"Wait!" Sora pointed out as he quickly and the others quickly stood in front of him, continuing. "They're trying to kill you!"

"Kill me? Their whole world revolves around me." Kuzco said.

"You don't understand! Yzma's the one who turned you into a Llama in the first place, but from what we heard from her earlier, she wants to get rid of you." Sora explained.

"He's right. If you go to her, she'll get you." Pacha agreed quickly.

"Oh come on. That's ridicu-" Kuzco cuts himself off, before his eyes narrowed, "Oh! Oh, I get it!"

"What?" Sora and Pacha both asked, while Donald and Goofy looked just as confused.

"You don't want to take me back to the palace. You want to keep me stranded out here forever." Kuzco accused Pacha.

"What? No!" Pacha denied.

But Kuzco didn't listen. "It's all been an act, every single one of you! And I almost fell for it!"

"That's not true! We want to help you." Sora pleaded.

"Yeah, we're all friends." Goofy added.

"Will you just listen to-"

"No no no, you listen to me." Kuzco cut Pacha off. "All you care about is your...your stupid hill-top!"

"What?" Pacha gapped in shock.

"None of you care about me! Now just get out of here." Kuzco snapped.

"But-"

"Go on! Get outta here!"

Finally after staring at Kuzco in shock and before Sora, Donald and Goofy could try and explain, Pacha snapped back which caught the trio off-guard. "Fine!"

With that, the two walked off in the opposite directions from each other while Sora, Donald and Goofy looked at both of their retreating forms, shocked and worried and torn between following Kuzco and following Pacha.

"Just great." Donald grumbled, folding his arms angrily.

"I thought we were all friends." Goofy muttered sadly as he gazed at Kuzco's retreating form.

"Kuzco..." Sora muttered, only for the familiar sensation that he felt whenever he saw Roxas's memories fill his heart and mind as everything quickly turned white and his eyes widened as yet another memory came in...but none of his own or Roxas's.

But another one of Ventus's...and earlier one.

* * *

_Ven, Terra and a blue haired woman had just finished off fighting a monster and regrouped when they began having a conversation in their reunion after Ven gave his two best friends cards that were from Disney Castle. The blue-haired woman and Terra both laughed before their smiles faded._

_"Listen to me, Ven. We need to get you home." The blue-haired woman told the youngest Keyblade Wielder firmly._

_"It's okay, Aqua." Ven reassured, then turned to Terra and grinned. "Trust me; that guy in the mask is history. He won't bad-mouth Terra again."_

_Terra gasped at this and held Ven's shoulder firmly while demanding, "You saw the boy in the mask?" more sharply than he intended._

_"Uh..." Ven began, caught off-guard by his older friend's tone and expression, before hesitately replied, mentally wondering if the guy in the mask was more trouble than he thought. "Y-yes."_

_Terra frowned deeply, muttering softly, more to himself than to his friends. "Vanitas." _

_He then let go of Ven and told him firmly. "Ven. You let Aqua take you home."_

_"No way." Ven protested, "I wanna go with you guys."_

_"You can't. We have a dangerous task ahead of us. I don't want you to get hurt." Terra told him, which earned him a disappointed and concerned frown from Ven and a slightly suspicious one from Aqua._

_"And what is this dangerous task, Terra?" Aqua asked, concerned. "It doesn't sound like what the Master told you to do."_

_Terra shook his head. "It might be a different route, but I'm fighting the darkness."_

_"I'm not so sure." Aqua stated, finding herself avoiding Terra's gaze. "I've been to the same worlds as you and I've seen what you've done. You shouldn't put yourself so close to the darkness."_

_Ven couldn't believe what he was hearing, from Aqua of all people. It was one thing that she would be over-protective of him, but say things like that to Terra..._

_"Listen to yourself, Aqua. Terra would never-"_

_"You mean you've been spying on me?" Terra cut Ven off and asked sharply to Aqua, in a mixture of shock, anger and...betrayal, maybe? Ven wasn't sure. "Is that what he said to do? The Master's orders?"_

_"He was only-" Aqua cut herself off, her chest tighten in the growing guilt of hurting her friend like this, and gazed to the glass beneath them, unable to look into Terra or Ven's eyes._

_"Aqua..." Ven muttered, feeling what Terra was feeling, but it was more shock and sorrow than anything else._

_"I get it." Terra muttered after a long tensed silence and without another word, coldly turned his back and began to walk away, causing his two friends to look up at him in shock._

_"Terra!" Ven cried out, about to give chase._

_"_Just say put!_" Terra snapped, pausing as his harsh tone made Ven stop. "I'm on my own now, all right?" Without another word, he continued on, refusing to listen to what the others had to say._

_"Terra, please! Listen!" Aqua pleaded. "The Master has no reason to distrust you, really! He was just worried."_

_But her words went unheard and Terra was gone, leaving his two friends behind, in another tensed silence before Ven looked at her and muttered, still in shock and growing doubt of his own. "You're awful, Aqua."_

_"So now you know the truth." Aqua sighed, with a look of guilt and looking the urge to cry but she held it back. "But the Master loves Terra, and you know that too."_

_Ven wasn't so sure. He wanted to believe the Master had no reason to distrust Terra, but after being denied in getting stronger himself and prove himself that he wasn't the weak boy he'd been when he first came here anymore, it made it hard for him. He didn't know what to do anymore._

_"Were you also 'ordered' to take me home?" Ven asked reluctantly. When Aqua remained silent as she couldn't answer, he sighed as he told her. "Aqua... Now that you're a Keyblade Master, you've let it go to your head."_

_When Aqua still remained silent, Ven decided that he should leave and continue what he intended on doing as well as continue the mission to protect the worlds, orders or not. "I'm gonna go find Terra."_

_With that, Ven ran off in the same direction as Terra did, leaving behind a guilt ridden Aqua as she could only watch on._

_"Terra...Ven..." She muttered to herself..._

* * *

"Sora? Hey, Sora!"

"Huh, what?" Sora blinked, brought out from the vision of Ven's memories and glanced at both Goofy and Donald who'd been the one to speak his name. They looked worried as he realized that the vision made him zone out or something. "Oh, sorry. What did you say?"

"Are you okay?" Goofy asked, worriedly after he and Donald shared a concerned glance before having turned back to their teenage friend.

"Uh, y-yeah. I'm fine." Sora replied, nodding, scratching the side of his face slightly in embarrassment. While he'd been shocked to have seen more of Ventus' memories which made no sense, he realized now who the blue haired woman was, and instantly a memory of his own came back to him; one that when Xehanort trapped him in a nightmare in an attempt to turn him into his vessel;

One where Sora thought he'd met up with Riku and Kairi, who both turned into two people while Sora himself turned into Ventus, which he could still remember, and now Sora realized who they were; he recognized Terra, and now he knew what Aqua looked like. That girl in the blue hair was Aqua, the one Riku and Mickey were looking for, and who had been corrupted into darkness. It also shocked Sora that Terra ended up turning away his most trusted friends and ended up corrupted in darkness.

Same way Riku had been before being saved and returned to normal, and now...

He softly gasped as he realized that both Kuzco and Pacha were about to end up in the same path of darkness.

"We gotta save Kuzco and Pacha before darkness gets to them! And Yzma and Kronk!" Sora cried out worriedly, which startled them before they calmed down and, remembering that the two villains could catch Kuzco and kill him, realized that Sora was right.

"Not this time!" An unwelcoming familiar voice yelled from nowhere, and the trio jumped in alarm before looking in front of them and saw, to their dismay, Young Xehanort who smirked coldly at them.

"Xehanort!" Sora grunted as he and his friends summoned their weapons only for Young Xehanort to hold out his hand and before the trio could do anything, a corridor of darkness opened up underneath them and, feeling a sense of deja vu, all sank in, unable to escape while they were swallowed up into the darkness, the portal closing as soon as they vanished. Young Xehanort in the meantime teleported to where they were sent.

* * *

Unaware of what happened to Sora, Donald and Goofy, Kuzco was hurrying to catch up to Yzma and Kronk who was carrying a few balloons and a plate with a piece of cake, both unaware of his presence.

"This entire mess is your fault." Yzma complained, throwing the sombrero away.

"What'd I do?" Kronk asked, shrugging a bit awkwardly.

"If you hadn't mixed up those poisons, Kuzco would be dead now!" Yzma growled, just as Kuzco was about to present himself when he froze in quick shock and horror, having heard what she just said.

That couldn't be true, could it?

"There'll be no more diversions until we track that llama down and kill him!" Yzma continued as she glared at the embarrassed Kronk.

Kuzco's eyes widened in further horror before he quickly hidden himself in the bushes in panic, trying hard not to be heard, while Kronk told Yzma, "Said I was sorry. Can't we just let it go? Not even on your birthday?"

"Kuzco must be eliminated!" Yzma continued, climbing into a small tent-like carriage that could be carried on Kronk's back, while the said henchmen handed her the balloons and cake before slipping the carriage onto his back. "The empire will finally be rid of that useless slug."

"You got a point." Kronk agreed as he began to run off, continuing as he and Yzma vanished into the jungle while Kuzco, with them out of sight, emerged and just stared in the direction in pure shock and horror. "Nobody really seems to care that he's gone, do they?"

Kuzco couldn't believe it. His two most trusted advisors...they wanted to kill him. They were the reasons why he turned into a Llama in the first place, yet if Kronk hadn't messed it up, Kuzco really would've been dead by now and that, as far as he realized right now, was actually a better option than being dead. Even worse, no one in the Kingdom cared about him. But why? He was the world's nicest guy, right? But then he remembered the conversation at the campsite the other day.

Everything that Pacha and Sora had told him-Wait! They, Donald and Goofy cared about him, and had tried to protect him from the two who wanted him dead...and he just sent them away callously without even listening and accepting the truth, until now.

Quickly turning to the direction they had been, Kuzco called out to them while running further in hopes to catch up to them. "Pacha! Sora! Donald? Goofy?"

But it was too late. He'd driven them off. They were gone. Kuzco came a slow trot before stopping all together, sadness and guilt forming in his heart. Pacha was right; he was all alone, and the Emperor had no one to blame but himself.

He was on his own. In sadness, Kuzco wandered alone endlessly in the jungle, until he came up to a small cliff and something caught his eye in the distance; the Palace that is his home. Or was used to be his home. Everything he had believed in his life was a lie; no one loved him, because of his own selfishness. It was what gotten him to this point in the first place, and now he knew it, Kuzco felt he had no place to be an Emperor, and seeing how he couldn't find the only friends he ever truly had, he couldn't be human anymore either. Plus how can he face them now when they believed he was dead and were happy for it?

Kuzco might as well pretend to be dead forever and never return, live out the rest of his life in the jungle. So he took off Pacha's hat and Poncho, laid them on the ground and somberly walked away as a storm was about to start. He eventually sat on part of a small pond and didn't move.

* * *

**"Okay, now you're making this a sad story. I mean, I didn't do anything here and they ruined my life for no reason." Kuzco suddenly appeared.**

Ugh! Will you stop doing that!? This is the fourth time you interrupted!

**"All I'm saying is that they took everything I had and you mainly wrote about those guys with the Key-"**

"Hey, give it a rest up there, will ya?" Kuzco asked somberly and in irritation.

**"What? I'm just about to tell them what really happened in the beginning."**

"Who are you kidding, pal? They read everything they needed, and got the picture. They know what happened."

**"Well, yeah. But...but-"**

"Just let the author write and leave me alone." Kuzco sighed and curled up into a ball.

Uhhh...Okay, we just had two Kuzcos argue the point but...yeah, I think we'll let the real one get some sleep. Anyway, back to the story.

* * *

What felt like ages for Sora, Donald and Goofy was really about five minutes before they landed onto the ground as the Corridor of Darkness opened up in the air and they fell. Sora landed in a crouch on the dirt ground, while both Donald and Goofy crash landed less gracefully with a thud, dazed and seeing stars.

As Sora tried to catch his breath, he looked around and saw that he and his friends were in another part of the jungle. The Keyblader stood up while Donald and Goofy both shook away the dizzy spells and copied him, looking around in confusion. It looked like the jungle they'd been in when they first arrived in this world, but somehow it was more twisted and desolute, and dark.

"Where are we?" Sora asked.

"This is the illusion crafted from this world. You will only be able to escape if you defeat the Heartless." Young Xehanort's voice echoed as the rest of him appeared in front of the trio who glared at him, ready to fight. "That is assuming if you will be able to survive."

"Why did you bring us here?" Sora demanded, racing over to strike Young Xehanort despite Donald and Goofy's protests. But no matter how had he tried, none of his attacks were even hitting the younger self of the madman at all. Just straight through like a ghost and the enemy wasn't fazed.

"I thought I made it clear." Young Xehanort retorted, ignoring the strikes. "Everything one learns and believed to be the truth are always proved to be nothing but lies. People hide everything from those they take in, either by training or simply taking care of them, never the wiser. For example; if a Puppet is told one thing, and had friends that they trust, and even have hearts, what would they do once they learn the truth? They seek them out, shun out those they became too attatched to, and drive themselves into darkness."

Sora grunted as he continued to futilessly attack Young Xehanort who continued, "Trusting others always lead to betrayal and hurt. Being alone, however, is more suitable because as long as you don't rely on anyone, you don't hurt."

"You're wrong!" Sora snapped angrily. "Hurting is part of caring!"

"And yet, that Emperor has pushed someone like Pacha who was a fool to believe that there is good in everyone away and continues to believe in his trust in the one who wants to end his life, and you, Sora, are the trigger of it. Someone like you filled their hearts with distrust and doubt. And that chasm you created can be filled with a vast darkness." Young Xehanort scoffed.

Without saying anything further, Young Xehanort snapped his fingers and from the mist of darkness that began to surround the area all around them, it formed into a large black llama shaped Heartless with sharp jaws, wings on it's back, blood red eyes, grey skin on it's face, and the Heartless emblem on it's chest. Before Sora, Donald and Goofy could stop him, Young Xehanort simply vanished without a trace once more. They were then forced back when the Llama-Heartless made to stomp them but it missed, though it did create a shock wave that shook the ground and the trio struggled to keep their balance.

They glared up at the Heartless who then stomped towards them to tremple them into pancakes. Sora, Donald and Goofy ran out of the way before quickly attacking as soon as it stopped. Sora struck hard at the legs with his Keyblade, using the combination of his swordsman skills and magic and casting Thunderaga to zap it, which was increased thanks to Donald's own Thunderaga Spell. Goofy whacked another leg with his Shield, but was knocked back when the Heartles swung it's head and did the same with Donald while kicking Sora with his leg before either of them had a chance to dodge in time.

The three crashed onto the ground, but Sora got up, and used Curaga to heal his friends and himself before dodge-rolling out of the way when the Heartless spat a large green, slimy and digusting saliva which hit the ground, though some of the grass instantly melted upon contact and Sora realized that it was acid that made him cringe in worry and disgust. He then tossed his Keyblade at it's head when it attempted to charge at his friends after Donald cast Firaga at it's side that made it roar in pain and then fury before it was in pain again due to Sora's attack.

To the trio's shock, the Heartless then bounced around and created shock waves that were stronger than the first time. Sora, Donald and Goofy had to keep on dodging the attack combined with the saliva-acid while doing their best to attack as well despite running low on magic and they were somewhat limited on their elixirs and healing potions. Thankfully the attacks ceased and Sora used his chance to use his Motion Flow to leap up onto it's back and clashed at the back of it's head while Donald focused on using his Fire Works Spell at it's body, mindful of Sora. Goofy spun around and around at it's legs and the Heartless began to struggle with the combined attacks of the three of them.

It managed to shake them off and while Sora flipped to stop himself from crashing, Donald accidentally crashed into Goofy before the Heartless spat at them. Goofy held up his shield and to everyone's surprise, it reflected and bounced back, hitting the Heartless in the face where it began to melt. Realizing that the Heartless wasn't immune to it's own attack, Sora nodded and had an idea.

"Hey! Over here!" Sora taunted, and despite the warnings from his friends, Sora stood ready and firm, first dodging it's other attacks before it made to spit out the saliva at him. Just as Sora wanted. He quickly summoned his Barrier Spell to protect himself and just as he hoped, the attack was again reflected and this time hit the Heartless in the chest, burning off some fur and revealing black skin underneath.

Weakened by it's own attack, the Heartless stood no chance as Sora, Donald and Goofy used a Trinity Spell that combined their power of friendship which was an upgrade of Donald's Fireworks spell. It hit the Heartless several times in the burnt spots until it finally couldn't handle it anymore, roaring as while the spell stopped, the Heartless gave out a moan before falling onto the ground, defeated.

No sooner than the Heartless began to disappear, so did the area around Sora, Donald and Goofy who all cried out as a flash of light nearly blinded them. When it faded, they soon found that they were not in the area that Young Xehanort trapped them in a little while ago. But in a familiar area with the wall behind them.

"Hey, we're back where we started." Goofy remarked, recognizing the path and the building of Mudka's Resturant.

"But where are Kuzco and Pacha?" Donald asked, worriedly.

Sora looked around worriedly, realizing that there were no signs of the two anywhere. But as he began to fear the worst for Kuzco, he noticed something on the ground and gasped softly; hoove prints which also included footprints, heading into the direction that Pacha had taken.

"Let's follow these tracks. Maybe we'll find them and they're still heading to the Palace." Sora spoke up, and both his friends saw the tracks as well.

"Maybe Kuzco heard what Yzma wanted to do and got away." Goofy said hopefully.

"He might be snobby, but at least he's not that dumb." Donald admitted.

"Yeah. His heart is telling him that he can just trust, because we all care about him. And so does Pacha. Caring for others is much more important than caring about yourself." Sora nodded, somewhat relieved. And even though what he saw in Ven's memories ached his heart when he, Terra and Aqua hit a grudge in their friendship, it was still as strong as ever, because their hearts are connected.

It lasted Aqua this long in the Realm of Darkness, and only Xehanort managed to get to her, but Sora still believed that there was still light in her heart. Same with Terra, and Ven's as well. He knew then, once they were all saved, the first thing they would do is embrace when they are reunited. Same with Axel, Roxas and Xion. Sora didn't know how, but he knew that he would save them, and remembering what Riku told him, and despite Saix's cold nature, he will figure out how to save him too.

For Axel's sake.

With an agreed nod, the trio hurried to follow the tracks despite that it was dark, but thanks to Donald's magic, it would make it a bit easier.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the jungle, Yzma was sleeping in a large luxurious tent, while Kronk was dressed in striped pajamas, sleeping and snoring on the ground with a tent that only covered his waist and holding a teddy bear in his arms. He'd been fast asleep in dreamland when he somehow realized something and woke up quickly.

"The peasent at the diner!" He gasped...pausing until he muttered in slight annoyance. "He didn't pay his check."

Drowziness then overtook him and he slumped back onto the ground and once again snored away in his sleep for a few more seconds until the rest of the realization and memory came back to him, remembering his brief conversation with Pacha and finally realized why he was familiar.

Jolting up awake again, Kronk softly exclaimed to himself, "He's the peasant who I saw leaving the city who disappeared into the crowd with Kuzco on the back of his cart."

Gasping in both realization, and waking himself up even more, he continued with a thought. "He must have taken him back to his village, so if we find the village, we find him, and if we find him, we find Kuzco."

Kronk smiled to himself as he finally found the answer. "Oh yeah, it's all comin' together."

With this in mind, he quickly got up and barged into Yzma's tent to tell her the news.

"Yzma!" He cried out.

"WHAT!?" Yzma growled angrily as she sat up, only to reveal that her face was covered in facial cream and cucumber over her eyes, which was a horrible sight, especially in the middle of the night.

"Augh!" Kronk recoiled in fright and disgust.

"_**This had better be good!**_" The old woman continued as the cucumber fell off, revealing her exhausted and red tired eyes as she glared at him, impatiently wanting to her what he had to say that interrupted her beaty sleep.

* * *

It took Sora, Donald and Goofy all night to find Kuzco and Pacha, and even as morning dawned, they emerged from the trees and found themselves in a fresh green valley of the Llama Pasture, where normal white wild llamas feasted on the grass. It wouldn't be difficult to find Kuzco since he is the only llama that is red and black.

They easily spotted him all alone after the other real llamas walked away, and looking guilt ridden and miserable. He began to eat the grass before cringing in disgust, before noticing something and followed it. The eyes of the trio followed Kuzco's movements and spotted Pacha talking to the other llamas.

All four of them got closer and heard what the Villager was saying.

"So there we were standing on the cliff, and the ground started to rumble. And just as it started to go, he grabbed me before I fell. Do you believe that? You know, call me crazy for following this guy all the way out here, but as much as he tries to deny it, I know there's some good in him. Besides, I couldn't just leave him out here all alone. He's a lousy llama. I mean, a really lousy llama." Pacha was saying, seated on the ground retelling the events that happened.

Kuzco was touched by Pacha's words and smiled, just as Sora's group who also smiled approached. Pacha noticed and smiled as well, standing up while brushing off the dirt from his Poncho that he retrieved along with his hat as all five of them regrouped.

"Hey, listen, Pacha, you know, what I said to you back at the diner, that - that - I - I didn't really..." Kuzco began, trying to apologize for his behavior to his friends, his real friends who truly cared about him.

Pacha held up a hand for Kuzco to stop walking and gave him a smile of forgiveness, then asked. "So, you tired of being a llama?"

Kuzco teared up and sniffled. "Ye-ee-ee-es!"

"Well then, let's get to it! The way to turn Kuzco back into a human's gotta be in the Palace, right?" Sora declared. "You know, in that secret lab of Yzma's?"

The others thought about it before Kuzco replied, "Well, from what I heard from Yzma yesterday while she didn't even notice I was there, I heard that Kronk had mixed up a poison bottle for a llama potion which I think is what turned me into one."

"Hmmm...Well if there's a potion that can turn people into a llama, there's gotta be one that turns them back into human." Goofy thought after a few moments of thinking, tapping the side of his head.

"Yeah! Good thinking, Goofy!" Donald praised.

The group nodded, knowing what needs to be done.

* * *

Wasting no more time, Pacha lead Kuzco, Sora, Donald and Goofy back towards his village as they all agreed, given that they still haven't had anything proper to eat yet, to get supplies and then head straight to the Palace as quickly as possible, knowing that Yzma and Kronk would still be looking for Kuzco and attempt to kill him before he can turn back into a human.

But as they ran up the stairs toward's Pacha's home, a couple of elderly villagers who were playing chess called out to Pacha.

"Hey, Pacha. You just missed your relatives." One of the villagers greeted.

The group paused in confusion, as Pacha asked, "My relatives?"

The skinner old man nodded, "Yeah, we just sent them up to your house."

"What did they look like?"

"See, there was this big guy and this older woman who was, uh..." The older man paused before turning to his fellower player and asked, "How would you describe her?"

"Scary beyond all reason." The other villager answered after a moment of thought.

"Yeah, that's it." The skinner guy remembered.

Sora and his friends glance at each other worriedly.

"Uh-oh." Donald gulped nervously.

It would seem that Yzma somehow knew that Pacha accidentally brought Kuzco here and believed that they were still here, which meant that Pacha's family were in danger.

They had to hurry and save them without putting them and the other villagers in danger from combat. Things had just become more complicated and serious now.

* * *

Inside Pacha's home at the very top of the hill, Yzma was having tea that was served by his wife, Chica who was heavily pregnant with her and Pacha's third child, and to say that Chica was suspicious and skeptical about the guests was an understatement...about Yzma anyway.

"So, remind me again how you're related to Pacha?" Chicha asked.

"Why, I'm his third cousin's brother's wife's step-niece's great-aunt...Twice removed." Yzma lied politely, sipping her tea.

"Uh-huh." Chica replied, clearly not convinced, but not certain what to make of his woman either.

"Isn't that right, Kronk?" Yzma turned around and asked Kronk, only to see that her henchman was playing double-dutch with Chica and Pacha's two other children, their eldest daughter in pigtails named Chaca, and her little brother Tipo. Kronk wasn't listening on the conversation and was instead enjoying himself and so where the children.

"_~Ninety nine monkeys jumpin' on the bed!~_" Chaca playfully sang as she and Tipo swung the jump rope around.

"_~One fell off and bumped his head!~_" Kronk sung along while hopping over the rope.

Yzma mentally groaned in irritation before turning back and smiled widely at Chica, pretending that nothing was out of the ordinary.

"You know, I am so sorry that you had to come all this way, but as I said to you before, you may recall, Pacha is not here. I'll be sure and tell him you came by." Chica apologetically explained.

"Oh, would you, please? That would be just great." Yzma replied, but accidentally hit her cup onto the floor. "Oops! Silly me."

"No, no." Chica replied, dryly. "Allow me."

While she bend down with difficulty to try and pick up the cup, Yzma used this distraction to the hopping game and joined Kronk, playing paddy-cake while whispering to him, "She's hiding something. When I give the word, we search the house."

"Okay, but I still have ninety four monkeys to go." Kronk whispered back, which only made Yzma growl, before she quickly returned to her original position before Chicha would even notice.

"So, while we're waiting for Paca-" Yzma began.

"Pacha." Chicha corrected.

"Oh, yes. Perhaps we can have a tour of your lovely home."

"You know, why don't you just come back when Pacha gets home? I'm sure he'd love to show you the..." Chica began to suggest, only to trail off when she glanced out at the window and saw her husband who held a panicked expression and jerked his thumb to the side hurriedly before vanishing. She quickly took the hint and slowly began to confirm her suspicions, meaning that they were all in trouble.

"Uh...Excuse me, won't you? I think I left something in the oven." Chica fakely apologized and slipped into the kitchen where she knew where Pacha would meet her.

Kronk in the meantime was swinging two ropes while the two children hopped, saying as he explained the new game's fun rules. "This is my variation of double dutch. On the signal, we switch places."

"Kronk, it's time." Yzma slipped back towards him, seeing this as their chance to search the house.

Only for Kronk to not take that hint and instead took this as the signal for the game. "OKAY!"

He and the kids quickly switched and now Yzma was swinging the ropes in the middle, much to her annoyance.

This wasn't going according to plan...for her anyway.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so this will end up being four chapters long for this world, but we're almost done with it. Anyway, I'm looking forward to KH3 ReMind and hope that Mickey, Xion, Kairi and Lea will be playable(though I doubt it but one can dream).**

**(Looks around suspiciously, then sighs in relief when Kuzco didn't arrive to interrupt)**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	12. Chapter 11: Potion Frenzy!

**A/N: Not much to tell here except that it seems Luxord now has a bigger role than ever which I forgot to mention. And Kingdom Hearts X(Chi) Novel is coming out in December the 10th this year! I can't wait! To celebrate that, here's another chapter which will conclude Kuzco's Empire world!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 11: Potion Frenzy!

As soon as Chica made it to the kitchen, Pacha met up with her and explained everything that has been happening for the last couple of days including the warning of Yzma and Kronk's attempts to kill Kuzco which further confirmed his wife's suspicions which soon turned into worry, at the same time as Sora, Donald and Goofy were taking care of a few Heartless that appeared once more and managed to drive off the rest without harming the other villagers.

"...So, we have to get back to the palace, find the lab, and change him back." Pacha finished quickly.

"Hi there." Kuzco greeted, sticking his head up into the window all of the sudden, with Sora, Donald and Goofy approaching half a second later. Chica was startled and without thinking grabbed a frying pan and smacked the young Emperor right in the face which made him start seeing colourful llamas circle his head before falling half-unconscious.

"Oooh." Sora winched, while Donald, Goofy and Pacha all winched and cringed at the same time.

"Um...That was him." Pacha pointed out weakly.

"Whoops." Chica winced herself, realizing her mistake. "I'm really sorry, your highness."

"...I'm okay." Kuzco murmured weakly.

"And you must be Sora, Donald and Goofy." Chica spoke up to the trio after a moment of awkwardness. Sora and his friends nodded with smiles.

"Hey there." Sora greeted with a wave, along with the others as Goofy chuckled his usual chuckle.

Chica smiled and waved back. Unlike Yzma and a bit like Kronk for some reason, she almost instantly felt that the trio could be trusted and were friendly. Especially Sora who seemed to be a kind and brave teenage young man. Knowing what has to be done, she looked up to her husband and told him, "Go, I'll stall them long enough for you guys to get a head start."

"Thanks, honey." Pacha replied, giving her a kiss before slinging his bag over his shoulder and exited the kitchen. Sora and his friends said their thanks as well and quickly followed.

Kuzco stood up, still dazed from the blow of the frying pan and wobbled as he said, "You have a lovely wife. They're both very pretty." only for Sora and Goofy to grab him and followed the others as quickly as possible while Chica went back into the living room to begin the distraction.

"So, where were we?" Chica spoke up, pretending as though nothing was out of the ordinary, with Yzma looking to be in a sour mood having to put up with Tipo's-and Kronk's-annoying antics.

"Listen, sister. We're not leaving until-"

"I show you the house. Of course!" Chica finished for the older woman, grabbing and dragging her along, much to Yzma's confusion.

* * *

_With Sora's group..._

"Was it a good idea to leave your family with those two?" Kuzco asked, starting to quickly grow concerned, and Sora, Donald and especially Goofy shared it.

"Oh, don't worry. They can handle themselves." Pacha reassured, while a bit concerned himself but he knew that his wife was a lot tougher than she looked.

* * *

_Back in Pacha's house..._

Chica, Tipo and Chaca were standing in front of a closed closet, with the handle removed from the door and the mother holding it and even better, they had locked Yzma and Kronk inside to prevent them from catching up to Pacha's group. The trio were having a bit of fun doing this and Yzma's patience was already running thin quickly after the mocking was getting on her nerves.

"All right, I've had enough." Yzma growled from the darkness of the room inside, glaring at Kronk and commanding him. "Kronk, break the door down!"

"Break it down?" Kronk asked, incredulously. "Are you kidding me? This is hand-carved mahogany."

"I don't care, you fool! Get out of my way! I'll do it myself!" Yzma rolled her eyes and pushed him aside, beginning the countdown.

When they heard this, Chica turned to her children and told them with a smirk. "Okay, kids. You know what to do."

"Right, Mom!" Tipo and Chaca grinned and rushed off to carry out the plan. As soon as Yzma said three, Chica replaced the handle and yanked the door open. The older woman ran out in high-speed without realizing until it was too late.

First she went sliding on the slippery floor which Tipo polished, then Yzma hit the higher door after Chaca opened up the lower one, causing her to slip and crash into a wooden wheel barrow and began to roll down the hill. Next she hit a bee-hive which Tipo was holding on a stick, causing honey to cover her up even after she threw the hive away, and passed Chaca and hitting a pillow which the little girl was holding in front of her.

Just as Yzma realized she was now covered in feathers, the cart hit a rock which sent her catapaulting into the air...and right into a child's birthday party where she knocked away a pinata from the string and was stuck there in it's place. Just as a mother signaled the blind-folded children to swing their sticks, and soon began hitting her without realizing.

"Ow! Oh, ow! Stop it, you little brats!" Yzma grunted, before looking up and saw several footprints leading up on a hill; hoove prints followed by other footprints. As her eyes followed it, she saw the party of five just vanishing over it. Two humans, one llama, an anthropomorphic duck and an anthropomorhic dog were feeling...to the palace as she recognized the llama instantly.

Yzma then began to call up to Kronk, but then she saw that he was talking to the family and growled in irritation before yelling at the top of her lungs to get her idiot of an assistant to focus. "_**KRONK!**_"

And soon the chase began.

* * *

Quickly following Pacha's lead, Kuzco, Sora, Donald and Goofy ran down the hill, through the jungle, up another hill and down on the other side, working on not being exhausted as they raced through towards the Palace as quickly as possible, keeping up the pace and taking out the Heartless that got in the way that attempted to slow them down. Unfortunately nothing was slowing down Kronk as he followed the group with Yzma in the tent on his back.

Sora's group soon reached a high ravine, but thankfully Pacha had a bow and arrow, and with a rope tied to a tree behind him, he fired the arrow to another tree on the other side. Once the group made sure it was secure and with more rope long enough to make a zip line, one by one the group slid over to reach the other side even though Sora opted to glide over after realizing his gliding ability had gradually returned through the journey in this world.

Kuzco then chomped the rope and followed his friends to continue on in hopes of stopping Kronk and Yzma from using it. However, the two villains were one step ahead as they put on goggles like pilots used to wear and Kronk pulled the string with wings popping out of the tent and as soon as he jumped, they were gliding their way towards the other side. Kronk gave Yzma a thumbs up while the latter cheered...

Only for a lightning strike to hit them in the middle from nowhere, reducing the entire tent into nothing but burnt sticks and the two villains themselves charred and crispy black themselves with a bewildered expression. They hung there for a few seconds before falling into the ravine. Little did anyone know that Donald had cheekily used a Thunderaga Spell and snickered to himself as he followed his friends.

Another problem however, was that Young Xehanort was standing at the base of the cliff and held out his hand, opening a corridor of darkness in the middle of the air...

* * *

Having finally made it back to the Palace, the group followed Kuzco as he lead them towards the secret lab which it's entrance was a wall where a staue of a rhino's head stood with two levers in front of it. Unfortunately, Pacha pulled the wrong one and both Kuzco and Donald fell through the trap door and landed into the water below. The two emerged from the exit, soaking yet and sharing a look of annoyances, while a large happy looking alligator was biting onto Kuzco's tail.

"Okay, why does she even have that lever?" Kuzco asked while kicking the aligator in the jaw, causing the reptile to whimper and scutter back to it's home.

The Emperor and Donald in the meantime rejoined their friends just as Pacha pulled the right lever. The floor and wall flipped inward and took the group with it as they then landed into what appeared to be a roller-coaster cart. Pacha and Kuzco landed in the front seats while Sora, Donald and Goofy landed in the back, and two bars snapped onto their legs, much to their confusion.

"_**Please remain seated and keep your arms and legs in at all times**_." A robotic voice echoed. While Sora somewhat excited and wondered what was going on, Donald, Goofy, Kuzco and Pacha looked terrified while they held onto the bars and bracing themselves for the worst.

A second later the cart when down in a twisted wild lane down into the deepest reaches of the lair. Kuzco, Pacha, Donald and Goofy were screaming at the top of their lungs in fear and bewilderment, while Sora surprisingly was having a time of his life.

"All right! Whoo-hoo!" Sora cheered. This made him wish Riku and Kairi were here.

"Stop the ride! I wanna get off!" Kuzco screamed hysterically.

"_Yaaaaa-hoo-hoo-hooiieeee!_" Goofy screamed in panic.

The cart then came to a stop and had everyone fall out. Miraculously, they all landed safely on their feet, but both Kuzco and Pacha were suddenly wearing lab coats and goggles; Kuzco was wearing a coat that was much too big for him, and Pacha was wearing on that was more female and too small, much to their confusion. They then shook off the unexpected gear and soon all five of them hurried over to the lab table.

"What does it look like?" Pacha asked quickly, as he checked each vial.

"I don't know. Just keep looking." Kuzco replied, doing the same thing.

Sora checked the draws but came up empty, Donald looked at the shelves nearby but had no luck either, and Goofy looked in the draws, table and shelves and found nothing. It wasn't until Sora noticed an owl statue and found that it was actually a cabinet. He yanked the doors open and found what they were looking for: thankfully there were pictures of each transformation underneath each pink potion and soon realized how Kronk managed to make the mistake in the first place.

"Guys, over here!" Sora called out, and as soon as his friends approached, he began to scan carefully for what they need. "Okay, lets see..."

"Lions, tigers, bears..." Pacha scanned, but as soon as he saw the human picture, the shelf was empty.

"Oh, my." A chilling voice spoke behind them, and as the group quickly turned, their eyes widened as out of the shadows, was the stick figure of Yzma who was holding the very vial they wanted with an evil grin. "Looking for this?"

"What?!" Sora gapped, as he and the others were bewildered at this.

"No! It can't be!" Kuzco gasped.

"Hey, how'd you get back here before us?" Goofy asked in great confusion.

Yzma raised a finger and was about to explain until she realized, to her own great confusion, she had no clue either. Her memories were rather vague since the ravine. She looked towards Kronk standing behind her and asked, hoping for a bit of help, "Uh, how did we, Kronk?"

"No idea. All I remember was that we fell into a black hole thingy that just appeared out of nowhere and then crash landed back here." Kronk shrugged, just as clueless as everyone else. "I mean, black hole thingys really don't make sense."

"That is my doing." Another familiar voice echoed, as out of the corridor of darkness, Young Xehanort appeared as he explained cooly. "I thought you could use some help in getting rid of the Emperor."

"Xehanort!" Sora snarled, quickly summoning his Keyblade as he, Donald and Goofy who both also summoned their weapons all glared at the enemy.

"Wait, isn't he that same guy back on the bridge the other day?" Kuzco asked, shocked as he recognized Young Xehanort. "What does he want?"

"To do things much worse than Yzma." Sora replied, not taking his gaze off of Young Xehanort who just scoffed.

"That is where you are wrong, Sora." Young Xehanort responded. "You know what that Emperor intends on doing, and yet you still risk your lives for him when he wanted to build that summer home of his. As such, he is the heartless one."

Kuzco gulped, nervously saying. "Okay, I admit it. Maybe I wasn't as nice as I should've been, but I don't wanna kill anybody." He then turned to Yzma who grinned just after shrugging at the unexpected help from an unexpected new ally. "But seriously, Yzma, you really want to kill me?"

"Just think of it as you're being let go, that your life's going in a different direction, that your body's part of a permanent outplacement." Yzma explained, enjoying the look of pure horror and disbelief on Kuzco's face and even the shocked and horrified looks from Pacha, Sora, Donald and Goofy.

That moment was ruined because Kronk said, "Hey, that's kind of like what he said to you when you got fired."

"I know." Yzma growled. "It's called a cruel irony, like my dependence on you."

That shocked the trio as Goofy asked incredulously, "You wanna get rid of Kuzco just because he fired you?"

"Ugh, you serious have issues, Yzma!" Sora growled.

"Such carelessness can lead to tremendous darkness." Young Xehanort interrupted, causing Sora, Donald and Goofy to return their glares to him. "Kuzco was raised by Yzma, and her darkness put darkness into his heart, and one simple betrayal leads to another falling into darkness. That emperor's heart is far too clouded to change."

"So...I'm just gonna end up really like Yzma?" Kuzco asked in horror. "I can't believe this is happening!"

"That's not true!" Sora argued. "You don't know Kuzco like the rest of us. He might have not been that nice, but he's nothing like Yzma and especially nothing like you! He saved Pacha's life and even apologized to us! He learned that Pacha's a good person and they've become friends, part of each other's hearts, just like my friends became part of mine."

"What? Your friends are your power?" Young Xehanort asked, then scoffed as he pointed out darkly. "Ah... How very true. But if the light of friendship is a form of power... the darkness of being alone is a power... even greater. Darkness is the heart's true nature."

"No. Being alone is the worst thing to happen." Pacha pointed out. "You and Yzma are the ones who are that heartless. Kuzco has some good in time like everyone else. My guess is no one has ever cared about you, because you know nothing about caring for other people, or hearts."

Sora nodded in agreement, adding. "There are hearts all around us, trying to connect. Your loneliness only made the new connection between Kuzco and Pacha even stronger. That's the hearts true nature, to never, ever let go and even learn from mistakes. Sometimes friendships lead to a few problems, but they always make up in the end, to get together again. They won't let go of that."

He then took a step forward, continuing. "Xehanort, you're so caught up in finding the shadows, you forgot about the light that cast them."

Kuzco was stunned and touched by his friends words, and remembering the things that he learned in the last few days, he realized that they were right; they cared about him and he learned to care about them too. Plus he'd never been one to let anyone die even on his watched and that was something he really didn't like at all.

"Oh, please. If Kuzco had learned how to be caring, I'm afraid he's too late." Yzma growled, pulling out a dagger from behind her and tossed it to Kronk, ordering him. "Finish them off, Kronk."

But Kronk seemed to be torn by this, gazing back and forth between the knife and the group. He didn't know what to do. In fact, the more he heard about what Sora's group were saying, the more that even he felt inspired. Those guys really cared about each other while all Yzma did was insult him. He then realized that Yzma's reason to kill Kuzco was wrong. It wasn't right to kill him just because he fired her.

So, ignoring Yzma's irritated and impatient glare, Kronk looked up and saw that she was standing directly underneath a chandelier and had an idea.

"That'll work." He muttered to himself, and to everyone's surprise, even Young Xehanort's, Kronk cut the rope and the entire chanderlier falls towards Yzma who gasped in shock when she saw this about to crush her to death.

_**CRASH!**_

This caused everyone to turn away. But when they looked back, they all shivered with horrified and dumbfounded faces...as Yzma was perfectly unharmed due to being really skinny. Which was also a good thing because it would've crushed the vail in her hand as well.

"Strange. That usually works." Kronk remarked.

"And so does this!" Yzma replied, as she went to another lever that looked like a vile and pulled it down, which revealed a trap door underneath him as he stood in mid-air for a few seconds.

"Ah. Should've seen that coming." Kronk muttered as he looked down and realized what was about to happen. He then fell through screaming and vanishing into the trap door.

"Unbelievable." Young Xehanort muttered in shock, which allowed Sora, Donald and Goofy to rush over and try and attack him. Seeing this, the silver-haired man from the past quickly summoned his Keyblade and blocked their attacks, their weapons locked.

"Kuzco, Pacha! Now!" Sora called out behind him.

The two nodded and quickly raced over to the distracted Yzma as she continued to gaze at where Kronk had fell. Pacha snuck up behind her and snatched the bottle from the old woman.

"Give me that vial!" Yzma demanded, climbing onto his shouldered and pounded him on the head. Pacha dropped it and she snatched it back, but the two continued to fight over it with Kuzco trying to grab it as well. Eventually Yzma landed hard onto Pacha's back, forcing him to let go of the vial he'd managed to retrieve. Though Yzma laughed in victory, Kuzco rammed hard into her back, causing her to fly across the room and drop the vial onto the floor which it landed harmlessly.

Yzma hit the cabinet as a few other vials landed harmlessly on the floor. Seeing them quickly started to give her an idea.

"Hey, hurry up and get the potion!" Donald called up to the duo who quickly tried to get the vial.

"We can't hold him much longer!" Goofy strained.

"Don't give up guys!" Sora encouraged, only for him and his friends to be swiped back once more, landing on the ground hard.

"So even those with cruel hearts have change of hearts. But not everyone. Perhaps there is still light within Kuzco. I am going to have to remember that." Young Xehanort remarked, then chuckled as Sora got up and tried to swipe him, but like before, it went through and he was unharmed. "That means even puppets can be given strong hearts. You have been a big help, Sora."

"Huh?" Sora blinked, confused.

"But you will not survive the outcomes ahead of you." Young Xehanort snarled darkly as he soon vanished into darkness, despite Sora's protests.

Before Sora could even think of what Young Xehanort said, he, Donald and Goofy heard gasps and quickly turned only to see that Yzma had knocked the cabinet which knocked several other potions onto the floor which now mixed up with the human one, much to their, Kuzco and Pacha's dismay. The five of them quickly tried to find which one it was while Yzma mocked them before she pulled a cord and an alarm went off.

"You all better hurry, because company is coming." Yzma mocked, as three walls opened up and revealed six guards glaring angrily at the group. She then ordered the guards with a lie. "Kill them! They murdered the Emperor!"

The guards let out a battle cry and charged, foolishly believing this.

"No wait, I'm the Emperor! It's me, Kuzco!" Kuzco cried out as he tried to explain, but they ignored him, much to his horror. "They're not listening to me!"

"Just take 'em all!" Pacha instructed as he, Sora, Donald and Goofy shoved the vials into his poncho into a make-shift carry bag, and Kuzco, realizing that turning back into a human was their only hope, quickly helped his friends. The group then made a run for it, but not before Pacha knocked the table over where various potions flew into the six guards and turned them into various animals such as an Ostrich, a Gorilla, a Lizard, an Octopus, a Bear and a Cow.

"Get them!" Yzma pointed at the retreating group.

Though a guard that turned into a Cow pointed out with some concern, asking hopefully. "Hey, I've been turned into a cow. Can I go home?"

"You're excused." Yzma politely dismissed, and while the Cow-Guard waddled off, she asked with a tired tone. "Anyone else?"

"No, we're good." The other guards replied, and at Yzma's repeated order, they all charged to give chase.

* * *

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kuzco and Pacha made a run for it through the halls in hopes of finding the exit.

"We've gotta turn Kuzco back to normal, quick!" Goofy cried out as they ran.

"But which is the right potion?" Donald asked, worriedly.

"We'll just have to try each and every one of them as we go!" Sora instructed, knowing that there was no time for second guesses or picking as this was their only way now.

Pacha nodded and randomly grabbed a bottle before uncorking it and gave to Kuzco. There was a sudden explosion of pink smoke and red light the bellowed everywhere but Kuzco seemed to vanish...before the others heard him call out nervously. "Uh, guys? A little help!"

Then they turned, their eyes widened as the vial Pacha shoved into Kuzco's mouth turned the Emperor into a turtle, and the Guards were quickly catching up. Pacha quickly went back and picked him up before he rejoined the others as they continued to make a run for it. They came to a stop in front of the stairwell, just as the Guards and even Heartless appeared catching up to them. Having an idea, Goofy summoned his Shield and placed it onto the banister before hopping on. Sora, Donald, and Pacha hopped on with Kuzco in his arms and all five of them surfed down, narrowly missing swords, and axes the Octopus-Guard had brought down.

The group continued in high speed while Sora and Donald both awkwardly took out the Heartless that flew towards them and their friends. The former blasted Firaga while the latter chanted Blizzard, but to everyone's dismay three guards appeared at the bottom waiting to get rid of them.

"Oh, please be something with wings." Pacha muttered as he picked up another vial and uncorked it before shoving it into Kuzco's mouth while Sora had another idea, using Blizzard to made the ramp even more slippery. As the pink and red smoke exploded around them, the five of them were sent flying into the air due to ice making them fly into the air and avoiding the guards' weapons as well as the Heartless.

"Yeah! We're flyin'!" Kuzco cheered as he flapped his new wings...only for this victory to be cut-short when he and his friends realized that he just turned into a small bird no bigger than Pacha's hand and the said villager was holding him by the tail-feathers with Sora, Donald and Goofy holding onto him. "Uh-oh..."

They all then plummeted and crashed into a statue, before falling onto the ground. Most of them were holding their faces at the hard and hurtful landing before Pacha quickly picked up Kuzco again and made a run for it with Sora, Donald and Goofy, using Curaga on themselves and their friends before Sora struck three more Heartless that attempted to ambush them, quickly following with the guards still trying to catch and kill them.

"We're not getting anywhere with you picking the vials." Kuzco complained as they were now on a bridge over a large canals of water. "I'm picking the next one."

"Fine by me." Pacha agreed, and handed Kuzco another one as instructed while Sora whacked a Soldier Heartless over the edge where it landed in the water with a splash, and since it wasn't a water type Heartless, it sank and drowned.

In a much larger cloud of pink smoke, which soon cleared, Kuzco had transformed into a giant red and pink whale and was unable to move. Sora, Donald, Goofy and Pacha stared at him in complete, speechless shock.

"Don't you say a word." Kuzco warned, just before the bridge cracked and gave way due to Kuzco's Whale-weight and soon all five of them fell screaming and landed into the water below just as Yzma and the guards came down via the stairs. The group were underwater before they all quickly swam back up to the surface, even though a few water Heartless appeared and Sora had to take care of them without zapping his friends.

Fortunately, Pacha managed to hold onto the three last remaining potions and climbed onto Kuzco's back, telling him quickly. "Open your mouth."

Kuzco did so as Pacha opened up the potion and tossed it into the large gob, which engulfed the both of them in pink smoke and the villager landed into the water. When it cleared as the group rejoined him, the first thing Kuzco saw was hooves and cheered happily, "Yay, I'm a llama again!"

Only to stop when he realized that he was back where he started. He was a llama again, of all things and that was not a way to celebrate. However, before anyone else could say anything else, the water suddenly surged and soon Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kuzco and Pacha were all drained down into a whirlpool underneath them, screaming as they were sucked into the abyss. As all of the water was drained out, the five of them managed to grab onto the rim ledge to prevent themselves from falling to their deaths.

Yzma saw this and quickly pointed at the group. "There they go! After them!"

"Come on, men! Charge!" The Lizard-Guard commanded.

All of the guards soon jumped, but since the empty pool was still wet, they all slid down and since Sora and his friends were already climbing up to the safety ledge on the face of the Palace outside, the guards all fell and vanished from sight. Yzma saw this growled in fury at the failure of the guards as darkness briefly formed around her. Grabbing hold of a few potions herself in the lab earlier which were not animal transformations and a sword, the old enraged woman pulled down a curtain and tied it around a pillar. She then bungy-jumped down while hanging on.

She ran up the wall and well above the group who had managed to climb up onto the ledge and soon found out that they were almost there in figuring out which potion was the human one.

"Okay, only two left. It's gotta be one of these." Pacha informed, holding out the last two vials in his hands.

Yzma suddenly appeared and made to attack, but Sora, Donald and Goofy quickly shoved their two friends over and quickly held onto the potions, much to the former advisor's fury, holding a tight grasp of the sword as well as the potions.

"Give me those vials and I will kill you all very quickly!" Yzma snarled.

"Not in a million years!" Sora snapped, holding a tight grip on his Keyblade, vowing to protect Kuzco and Pacha who both looked on worriedly before nodding and joined up the trio who looked at them in surprise before nodding in return. At the same time, they had to be careful in not falling over or losing the potions.

Yzma smirked and tossed a potion at Kuzco who dodged it and gulped nervously as he saw that it was poison, but was glad that it was nowhere near him or his friends. The old woman then charged with a maniac scream, sword raised to strike him, but Sora was quicker and blocked the attack, shoving Yzma back while she stumbled and Donald chanted Thunderaga, electrocuting her while she screamed in pain, twitching slightly before growling in anger. She charged again while swinging the sword fast and nearly scraped Pacha who dodged it and nearly fell off, but luckily Kuzco saw this and grabbed hold of his arm with his front hooves, pulling him to safety and the two smiled at each other.

Goofy in the meantime blocked Yzma's attack but was knocked back slightly himself and stumbled. The old woman then tossed another potion which somehow began to burn him as it was a fire potion. Donald quickly used heal to help his friend and Sora clashed his weapon against Yzma's, shocked that despite her age and skinny form, she was surprisingly tough. Especially when she unexpectedly kicked him in the stomach and was about to shove another potion onto his head. But Sora ducked and dodge-rolled just in time which had her end up breaking the vial which landed on the ground, revealing another poison which vanished. Pacha then ran up and punched her in the stomach followed by Kuzco's kick, causing Yzma to grunt and nearly fell of the ledge herself.

"I will kill you for this!" Yzma shouted once she regained her balanced and tossed three other potions at the group. Sora used Reflect to block off two while Goofy smacked the other into pieces with his shield but it shocked him slightly as it was a Lightning Potion. Donald used his Firaga Spell at Yzma who ran to the side of the wall to avoid in getting burned.

Kuzco, having an idea, used this distraction to charge at Yzma, head-butting her in the chest before waving it to keep on going before turing and kicked her in the stomach while his former advisor grunted in pain even more due to this. His last kick caused her to fly back and nearly off the ledge again, much to his and the others' surprise.

"Ha! Boom, baby!" Kuzco cheered after the surprised turned to victory. But as his friends smiled at him, Yzma somehow quickly recovered and rammed herself into the group, causing all six of them to fall over and Pacha to end up losing the vials which bounced onto the ground. She then raced to get them, but Kuzco, seeing this, raced after her and the two ended up bumping into each other and spun in mid-air while trying to untangle themselves...and for Yzma to end up crushing a vial underneath her.

"No!" Pacha yelled, but it was too late. The vial exploded and caused a massive cloud of dark hue of red, mushroom form and forcing everyone else to look away and shield themselves with their arms.

In the thickness of the clouds, a sinister face laughed manically as dark red eyes leered with a jagged sharp teeth shown as the face laughed that sent chills down the group's spines. But as the smoke cleared, Yzma's transformation was nothing like either of them expected; rather than a Heartless or a sinister monster they were expecting, she was now a white, fluffy kitten.

Yzma let out a meow as the group stared at her in bewilderment, before Donald burst out laughing, and was soon followed by Sora and Goofy who both chuckled behind their hands.

"What are you fools laughing at!?" Yzma demanded, but she was now speaking in a high-pitched squeak and quickly realized that this was how she sounded now. She then asked herself, dumbfounded. "Is that my voice? Is that _my_ voice?"

After a second, she then just shrugged. "Oh well."

"I'll take that." Kuzco smirked at Yzma, taking the vial with his hoove in triumph.

"This is the one." Pacha smiled. "This will turn you right back into a human."

But as Kuzco was about to uncork it, Yzma attacked by scratching his face which caused him to yell out in alarm and pain. "Ow! Hey, get her off!"

Sora, Donald, Goofy and Pacha made to do so, but Yzma clawed their arms and forced them back, scratching them and Kuzco all at once as they struggled not to drop the vial. But she successfully grabbed it and leaped up higher and stood there, laughing manically, much to their shock and horror.

"Give it back!" Sora demanded angrily.

"Don't drop it!" Kuzco pleaded.

"I'm not going to drop it, you fool! I am going to drink it, and once I turn back into my beautiful self, I'm going to kill you and your new friends!" Yzma snarled, laughing as she then added cheatingly. "So I win."

Or so she thought. Suddenly a door right next to her slammed open and squashed her into the hard, golden wall causing the vial to fall out of her paws and land right in Goofy's hands. Confused on what just happened, the group looked up and saw that it was Kronk who had opened the door, completely unharmed and had unexpectedly helped them get the potion back.

"Whoa. Now what are the odds of that trap door leading me out here?" Kronk asked himself as he gazed around his surroundings.

"Um...he is always...?" Sora began to Kuzco while pointing at Kronk. The Emperor could only shrug cluelessly.

"Your Majesty, I think this is for you." Goofy spoke up, uncorking the potion and gave it to Kuzco who took it gratefully.

"Thanks, Goofy." Kuzco replied, smiling at the group. "Well, see ya on the other side." With that, he drank the potion and in a cloud of dust, his llama form was gone, and Sora, Pacha, Donald and Goofy all smiled happily.

Kuzco as been restored.

* * *

The next morning, with word that Kuzco had been alive all this time spread out and even gave credit to his friends for helping him and having explained what really happened, the servants restored the palace back to before Yzma took over briefly. With that, everyone in the kingdom then saw how much he changed and were greatly surprised, especially when he apologized for his behavior and promised to change for the better. He even gave the servants praises and promises for pay rises.

While Sora, Donald and Goofy smiled warmly at Kuzco's change in attitude, they couldn't help but gaze in sympathy who sat near a model of his village, except on top of the hill was a model of a golden palace which the trio assumed was Kuzco's summer home.

"You okay, Pacha?" Sora asked, worriedly.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Pacha sighed, smiling weakly, which soon faded once more. Sora could only sigh softly, wishing there was something he could do while Goofy lowered his gaze and Donald gave a sad moan.

In the doorway, Kuzco, after speaking to an old man while quickly becoming friends with him, saw this as well and frowned himself, remembering how this whole mess started in the first place and felt terrible for it. He knew now what has to be done.

"So, you lied to me." He spoke up as he approached, causing his friends to look up in confusion.

"I did?" Pacha asked.

"Yeah." Kuzco nodded. "You said when the sun hits this ridge just right, these hills sing. Well, pal, I was dragged all over those hills, and I did not hear any singing."

He put on a mocking pout, before taking the model of his summer house off the hill as Pacha, Sora, Donald and Goofy then realized what Kuzco was actually doing; an act of kindness, forgiveness and gratitude. "So, I'll be building my summer home on a more _magical_ hill. Thank you."

As Kuzco held out a hand, Pacha smiled and gave him the small model of his house while asking, keeping up with the act. "Couldn't pull the wool over your eyes, huh?"

"No, no, I'm sharp, I'm on it. Looks like you and your family are stuck up on that tuneless hilltop forever, pal." Kuzco replied as he put the model onto the fake hill, and the two of them smiled.

"Good for you." Sora praised. "I'm really glad you're finally understanding the real meaning of being nice."

"Well, let's just say I found a whole new groove that isn't all about me." Kuzco shrugged with a smile. "I really owe you guys."

"Naw, don't mention it. We're just happy to help." Sora laughed.

"No, really. I mean it, Sora." Kuzco continued, looking a bit awkward as he continued. "About what you told me when we first met that night, you were right. Caring about others is more important than caring about yourself. I hope you'll find the answers to whatever you're looking for."

The spiky haired teen's eyes widened in surprise, before his smile grew as Kuzco held out a hand to him. Sora chuckled and shook hands with the Emperor which made the smiles on Donald, Goofy and Pacha widen themselves.

"Thanks, Kuzco." Sora replied happily. "Will it be okay if we can come back for a visit?"

"Sure, feel free to visit any time. Still got that tour I promised ya's." Kuzco nodded.

"You're welcome to visit the village too." Pacha offered as well.

"Looks like things are okay here now." Donald said, smiling.

"Hey, wait a minute." Goofy suddenly remembered something. "What about Yzma and Kronk?"

"Oh, well, I offered Kronk a position to be my new advisor earlier, but he declinded and decided to be the new chef at that resturant we were at, and took Yzma with him. I wished him the best and told him that the offer's still there if he changes his mind." Kuzco explained, adding in slight confusion. "He also said something about being the new leader of this Junior Chipmunk Camp or whatever it is."

Sora, Donald and Goofy shared a confused glance before shrugging and turned back to their new friends with smiles, deciding that Yzma was no longer a threat and Kronk was a good guy given his actions back in the lab.

"Well, guess we'd better get going. Our adventure isn't over yet." Sora said.

"Come back soon." Kuzco waved.

"Be careful out there." Pacha added.

"Right. See you soon." Sora waved, as he, Donald and Goofy soon left the Palace, as Kuzco and Pacha watched them go.

The former in the meantime sighed and took a seat next to the villager who was now his friend, in thought of how to celebrate his birthday now without throwing anybody out of their homes.

As though thinking along the same lines, Pacha then spoke up after a thought. "You know, I'm pretty sure I heard some singing on the hill next to us. In case you're interested."

* * *

As Sora, Donald and Goofy left the gates of the Kingdom, they continued on walking to find a decent spot to teleport back into the Gummiship when Goofy then realized something that had them come to this world in the first place.

"Hey, y'know. We still haven't found that other Piece of Light to the Key to Return Hearts." He muttered, which caused Sora and Donald to pause in their steps alongside him, realizing that he was right.

"Oh, right." Sora murmured.

"How could you forget that, Sora?" Donald scolded.

"Hey, c'mon. We were busy trying to help Kuzco turn back to normal, and Yzma's scary-beyond-all-reason face creeped me out." Sora pointed out. "Besides, we can still look around for it. All I gotta do is search with my heart and sense it. We'll find it, and we'll save everyone. I just know it."

As soon as Sora finished that, felt the familiar warmth inside his chest and like back in Twilight Town, his heart began to glow in warm light. It was then that he sensed it; the warm feeling close by. Turning to look behind him and his friends, the entire Palace began to glow in golden light like the sun and just underneath the right eye, a Keyhole appeared.

His own eyes widening in realization, Sora summoned the Kingdom Key and held it up towards the Keyhole. The beam of light shot out from the Keyblade and straight into the Keyhole which glowed brighter until something began to emerge from it. A glimmer of light that began to form and materalize into a silver-white key much like the one in Twilight Town, but with an orange heart-shaped crystal attatched onto it on the top. Glittering in light, it floated down gently before it hovered in front of Sora who carefully picked it up and held it in his hand.

Sora, Donald and Goofy all smiled as they recognized it. They found it; the second Piece of Light.

"Piece of Light number 2 found!" Sora cheered as he held it up above him in victory.

"Now we only need to find five more." Donald added happily.

"That means we're closer in findin' that Keyblade too." Goofy added.

"Yeah." Sora nodded, carefully placing the second Piece of Light in his pocket where the first one still rested. "Let's go, guys!"

With two of the seven Pieces of Light now in their possession, Sora, Donald and Goofy left the Kingdom behind and found a good hiding spot to teleport back to the Gummiship and soon flew away from Kuzco's Empire to continue their journey to find the remaining five other pieces. While they still didn't know what Xehanort's motives are, they knew they had to be careful as this journey will continue to get harder along the way.

Not just for them, but for their friends in their own quests as well.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the desolate world of the Keyblade Graveyard with no signs of life at all, but only dirt, mountains, canyons and lifeless Keyblades everywhere, Master Xehanort was gazing out into the distance, deep in thought of things that were progressing so far. While he was closer in achieving his goal for the Keyblade War and gain the legendary X-Blade to summon Kingdom Hearts, he knew that Sora and his friends were steps closer in achieving their own.

Either for better or worse, it didn't matter. That foolish boy still believed that friendship was the true power, but Xehanort knew better.

He didn't even turn when he heard a Corridor of Darkness open up behind him and Xigbar walked out and approached him, stopping half way.

"Heya, old coot. Got some good news and some bad news. Which do you wanna hear first?" Xigbar spoke in a way of greeting.

"Whichever one you wish to speak." Xehanort replied.

"I'll start with the bad news first, then." The eye-patched man shrugged, giving out his report. "Not only Sora found two the pieces of light-how, I have no idea-but another guy, Sephi-whatever it is, is looking for the Key to Return Hearts too and could be seeking out Sora as well as that Spiky-haired dude, Cloud or something related to the sky."

"Hmm...Yes, that is quite troubling. Cloud's heart is like both Terra and Riku's, but like the younger boy, Cloud is fighting the darkness and is resisting it, all thanks to Sora's influence. And yet, Sephiroth has strength like no any other and Cloud is the only one able to destroy him." Xehanort remarked.

"So basically, the main reason why he wants the Keyblade is so that he can use it to rid the remaining light in Spiky's heart and take full control of him." Xigbar summed up, before grinning. "That kinda sounds like what you've been doing, old man."

"Which is why the Key to Return Hearts must be destroyed." Xehanort confirmed, before asking, "And the good news?"

"Saix invited an old collague who can help us fill our ranks faster than usual. Really just need one more, right?" Xigbar replied.

"Two." Xehanort corrected, much to the younger man's confusion. "The one who Saix is recuiting is not among the chosen, neither is another. Their only purposes are for to fill their chest with the pieces of my heart, just in case one or two of our numbers are taken down by the Guardians of Light."

A long pause.

"What about Aqua? Don't you have plans for her too?" Xigbar queried.

The evil elder Keyblade Master just smiled cruelly, before giving his answer.

* * *

_At the same time as before Sora's arrival in Kuzco's Empire..._

No sooner had they discovered the new Keyblade and leaving Radiant Garden behind, Riku and King Mickey were traversing through the Lanes Between themselves in another Gummiship that Mickey had brought with for easier transport for himself and his friend, to really begin their search for the corrupted Aqua and hoping to catch up to her before she wandered too far into the dark path.

The two companions were deep into their own thoughts thinking about everything that's happened so far and what is going to happen in the very near future, which made both of them pretty concerned given how far ahead Xehanort was in his goals.

It wasn't until Riku thought of something and spoke up. "Mickey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?" Mickey replied from the pilot's seat, turning to look at his friend.

"The Key to Return Hearts...how much do you know about it?" The silver-haired teen questioned.

Slightly startled by the question, Mickey shrugged, a bit uncertain himself. "Well, I'm not really sure. I don't think I've ever heard about it before until Master Yen Sid mentioned it before we all left. What I do know is, based on what he said, it's very powerful, and pretty dangerous if it's in the wrong hands. I guess the reason why I never heard about it when I was his apprentice is because there was no need to know until now. Back when before things got so bad, there are things that nobody should ever know in order to keep the Realm of Light peaceful."

"Guess it makes sense." Riku shrugged, but frowned deeply in thought. "Could it really be real?"

"If the X-Blade is real, then so is the Key to Return Hearts." Mickey nodded. "I know, because I've seen one version of the former when Vanitas took over Ven's body and heart. While seven lights and thirteen darknesses are the true way of recreating it, Xehanort did mention that he got too impatient and wanted to use Ven's heart of pure light and Vanitas's heart of pure darkness to recreate it quicker."

He couldn't help but shudder a little as memories of confronting Vanitas with Ven's face and the X-Blade itself formed in his mind. "It's not like any Keyblade in existence. Even though it wasn't the real one, like the Kingdom Hearts 'Ansem' used not being the true Kingdom Hearts, it was still powerful and dangerous...and as much I hate to admit it, but evil, too. It sure scared me, I thought my heart was gonna blow up from the moment I first saw it, right before I saved Aqua."

"So you sensed it's power that almost overwhelmed you?" Riku asked, worriedly. To think that his friend had felt such evil and dangerous power that almost destroyed his heart, that terrified the younger Keyblade Master.

Mickey nodded, "It's even more dangerous when it got destroyed. I'm still not sure how Aqua managed to do it, but I guess her light and her connections with Ven and Terra was so strong that it overwhelmed it, and I'm pretty sure Ven must've been fightin' within his heart to stop Vanitas. Like how you held off Ansem when he took over your heart."

"Except Ventus wasn't as lucky I was." Riku sighed, and Mickey nodded in sadness. "My heart won, and my body reconstructed itself when I entered Castle Oblivion, thanks to the help of you and Ansem the Wise. Whereas Ven...his heart is still out there somewhere, and his body is hidden and only Aqua knows where he is. Except now she's been overcome by darkness."

"Right, and Ven's heart had left to find somebody who'll keep him safe until the day comes when he wakes up. All he needs for that help is Sora to use the Key to Return Hearts, and for everybody Ven made friends with to believe in him. Aqua, Terra, me, and even you, Sora, Donald and Goofy." Mickey agreed.

"Ven sounds a lot like you and Sora combined." Riku chuckled, which made Mickey laugh bashfully as well. "I can't wait to meet him."

"I know you will, Riku. Sora, Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Axel, too." Mickey nodded reassuringly. "But for now, we gotta find and save Aqua before the darkness causes her to do terrible things and Xehanort finds her."

"Yeah." Riku nodded.

With that, Mickey returned to piloting and it wasn't long before his heart sensed the faint glimmer of light in the distance, and like how Sora figured out in his journey, the King and Riku used their Keyblades to open a Gate and entered to make landing in another world that they hoped where Aqua was.

* * *

**A/N: Two pieces of Light down, five more to go! The next world will focus on Riku and Mickey as this story sort of Birth by Sleep, but in each different worlds rather than the same one in each group's journeys. Still haven't figured out which Disney world will be next, but I'm edging closer to an idea that is in my head, but until I make the decison, I'm holding it off for now.**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	13. Chapter 12: The New World

**A/N: Hi, it's me! Welcome to a new chapter! I originally had planned this world to be Riku and Mickey's second disney world visit for this story, but I couldn't think of another disney world beforehand for them. So ultimately the world of Pocahontas had won, and since she had yet to be identified as one of the other new Princesses of Heart, Pocahontas is a Princess of Heart in this story.**

**So without further ado, let's continue on!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 12: The New World.

_A few days earlier..._

In a world unfamiliar to many, in a land that most outside wouldn't really know filled with valleys full of healthy trees, forests, waterfalls and rivers. Not only that, it was also the home of native wildlife and it's own people in hut villages. The Natives/Indians have lived in peace for so many years, yet none were aware of a path that would lead them into dangers. And one in particular is the most adventurous.

A native young woman with long, dark hair, bare feet and dressed in a short dress made out of some kind of animal skin and a blue necklace, was in a long boat down a rive, rowing towards the ferns with a racoon and a hummingbird with her. Her name is Pocahontas, the daughter of the chief of the village. The racoon is named Meeko and the hummingbird is Flint.

Pocahontas rowed towards a large birch tree surrounded by a body of water. Once she was onto land, she climbed out and sat onto the large tree trunk in front of another tree, as an wise, elderly voice spoke from nowhere, "Is that my Pocahontas?"

"Grandmother Willow, I need to talk to you." Pocahontas spoke up.

The tree in front of her then revealed a face of an old, wise woman appear on the bark with a kind smile. "Good morning, child. I was hoping you'd visit today." The tree, Grandmother Willow, greeted, before noticing what the young woman was wearing around her neck. "Oh! Why, your mother's necklace!"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Pocahontas began, explaining. "My father wants me to marry Kocoum."

"Kocoum?" Grandmother Willow asked, before pointing out with slight annoyance and distaste. "But he's so serious."

"I know." Pocahontas sighed in agreement. "My father thinks it's the right path for me. But lately, I've been having this dream and I think it's-"

"Oh, a dream! Let's hear all about it." Grandmother Willow kindly interrupted with excitement.

Though before Pocahontas could even continue, Meeko, Flint and all the other animals that were with them began to chatter excitedly, wanting to hear the story of the dream as well, which quickly became too loud to the point of Grandmother Willow quickly becoming annoyed.

"Quiet!" She ordered, only for a squirrel to ran up her face which made her blow it off and yelled at the animals louder. "QUIET!"

All of the animals quietened down...except for a little frog who croaked. The wise tree gave it an annoyed glare, causing the frog to gulp nervously and leaped into the water, hiding under it's lily pad, peeking from underneath in slight fear.

"Now, child, you were saying." Grandmother Willow gestured Pocahontas to continue.

"Well, I'm running through the woods, and then, right there in front of me, is an arrow. As I look at it, it starts to spin." The young woman explained.

"A spinning arrow? How unusual."

"Yes. It spins faster and faster and faster until suddenly it stops."

While Pocahontas had been explaining the spinning arrow, Meeko spun his head around at the description of the dream until he became dizzy to the point of his eyes rolling that he had to hold his head, while Flint shook his head in exasperation.

"Hmmm..." Grandmother Willow murmured thoughtfully, before she suggested. "Well, it seems to me this spinning arrow is pointing you down your path."

That only confused and concerned the young native woman. "But, Grandmother Willow, what is my path? How am I ever going to find it?"

"Your mother asked me the very same question." The tree told her kindly.

"She did?" Pocahontas asked, surprised. When she was young, her mother had died, but she was always told about her, both by her father and Grandmother Willow. Most say that she has her mother's spirit, going where the wind would take her. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her to listen." Grandmother Willow began warmly. "All around you are spirits and hearts, child. They live in the earth, the water, the sky. If you listen, they will guide you. Listen with your heart. You will understand."

Taking the advice and hearing the wind, Pocahontas stood up, closing her eyes and listened, and at Grandmother Willow's gentle words, she listened with her heart as the wind gently blew all around her. She listened, as though understanding what it was saying.

"It's saying something's coming." Pocahontas finally responded. "Strange clouds?"

Curious on what was coming, Pocahontas then climbed up to the top of the tree which Grandmother Willow didn't mind. As the young woman did with her two animal best friends, the trio saw something towering over the trees, white and huge, slowly passing by. Flint and Meeko both saw this as terrifying and quickly went back into the trees, while Pocahontas stared in awe.

"What do you see?" Grandmother Willow asked up.

"Clouds. Strange clouds." Pocahontas replied.

Yet they were unaware that they were not clouds at all; but sails of a ship...coming from another land.

* * *

_Present..._

As Riku and Mickey disembarked from their Gummiship, the duo landed in the middle of a wide variety of trees, a large river of water beside them, which the scanner told them was called "_**Jamestown**_". They walked through as they gazed at their new surroundings, keeping an eye out on both Aqua and any signs of Heartless and/or Organization XIII that would give them trouble.

"Why would Aqua come to a place like this?" Riku asked aloud, a note of confusion in his voice.

"Hmmm...I'm not sure." Mickey admitted, just as confused as his friend was, but he did frown in growing concern. "But this world has someone with a heart full of light. I can feel it. Come to think of it, it's like with the Princesses of Heart."

"But, there are only seven and I've seen them all, including Kairi." Riku pointed out, pausing in his steps as uncomfortable memories resurfaced. He gazed at the ground in guilt that began to form. "I should know, because I helped Maleficent and 'Ansem' to capture them."

Mickey looked up at the young man and reassured him. "Aw, don't worry, Riku. It wasn't you fault. You only wanted to help Kairi."

The teenager sighed, knowing that the King was trying to cheer him up. "I know. But the one who truly kept her heart safe was Sora." He chuckled slightly. "To tell the truth...I was kind of jealous."

"Huh? You mean at Sora?" Mickey asked, surprised.

"Don't tell anyone, but, yeah...He doesn't realize it himself, but...I think Sora has stronger feelings for Kairi, and I think she always had a bit of a crush on him. Thing is, I had a crush on Kairi too." Riku admitted, his face turning to a shade of pink as he looked away, embarrassed.

"Oh." Mickey murmured in realization, and tried to hide his giggling behind his hand, but was unsuccessful. He knew what Riku was talking about. "You fellas sure grew up fast. But don't worry, I won't tell anybody. 'Cuz I know what it's like. That's just part of growin' up."

"I know." Riku replied, sheepishly. "Still, eventually I figured out that it was stupid of me when I didn't have a chance in the first place and in the end, I realized that I cared about Kairi like I cared about Sora, and I care about you, Mickey. When the two of us met up with Sora, Donald and Goofy before we met up with you and Ansem the Wise, how Sora and Kairi reunited made me see how much closer the two of them are than ever. Especially since Kairi gave him her Lucky Charm."

"But Sora doesn't realize his much stronger feelings yet." Mickey finished for him, and Riku nodded to confirm it.

"That's why I did what I did back then; for Kairi. I let Maleficent and 'Ansem' trick me, and I wouldn't let Sora near her. I guess I'm only lucky that Kairi and Sora forgive me for what I did. Can't say that same with the other Princesses, though." Riku said.

Mickey sighed, understanding the situations all too well. "I know what you mean. Sometimes girls can be a bit complicated, but I know what you went through, or at least somethin' similar. It was during your Mark of Mastery that Maleficent and Pete held Minnie hostage to try and force me to give up the Datascape. I guess she thought that Jiminy's Journal held a key in helpin' them conjour all the worlds."

"But the only thing that was a mystery was Namine's message, and she discovered memories in Sora's heart that didn't belong to him. Roxas, I can understand. But how is it Sora has memories of others too?" Riku pointed out.

"Data-Namine did say that Sora has somehow met Aqua and Terra a long time ago, and for reason, he and Ven share a strong connection. Not sure why, though." Mickey replied. "On the other hand, Aqua has met you and Sora when you were both very little, and she considered on passing on the power of the Keyblade to one of you. But she didn't, because Terra had done it. D'ya remember?"

Riku blinked in surprise, as the pieces of the puzzle became clear in his mind. The man he met when he was a child with the Keyblade, and the fact that Aqua sensed that Terra had already passed the power of the Keyblade to one of them now made perfect sense. He has met Terra before; the man who granted him the power was Terra!

'_That was Terra? Who would've thought? No wonder Xemnas looked oddly familiar._' The silver-haired teen thought to himself. Terra must've sensed the light within Riku's heart, and had decided, for safety measures and understanding his goal, decided to make him his successor.

But before Riku could answer which left him uncertain without breaking his promise, suddenly he and Mickey sensed presence of darkness and soon found themselves surrounded by several different breeds of heartless. Wasting no time, the two quickly summoned their Keyblades and got ready to fight. Riku slashed at one of the air Heartless before dodge-rolling out of the way and then chanted Firaga at it, finishing it off almost immediately. He was then hit from behind by one of the element Heartless using Thunder which made him hiss at the tingling pain before jumping out of the way while Mickey finished it off by leaping and slashing at it, and cast Curaga on his friend.

The duo then held hands and held out their Keyblades in a double combo of light whooshing out at the Heartless that were defeated while trying to get to the two Keyblade Wielders, but couldn't due to their attacks. Once the spell was complete, Riku and Mickey continued on fighting the Heartless with solo attacks and team work until Riku slashed the last one into oblivion with the Braveheart Keyblade and Mickey chanted his Pearl spell at another before hand.

Once they made sure that the Heartless were dealt with for now, the two scanned around carefully for anymore signs of danger. What Riku and Mickey didn't know was that a group of Indians were observing them while the two fought against the Heartless. These people were led by a young, strong muscled man named Kocoum who held a serious expression and narrowed his eyes angrily at the two fighters.

Or more specifically, Riku.

"I don't see anymore Heartless." Riku muttered.

"Me neither, but Aqua has gotta be close by. Better be careful, though. Who knows what we'll end up facin' while we're here." Mickey told him firmly, and his friend nodded in agreement.

But just as they were about to continue on down the path they were taking, they suddenly heard the bushes rustle which made the two of them freeze in their tracks, and Riku slightly jumped in alarm when an arrow suddenly landed right in front of him, and Mickey gasping in alarm.

"What the-?" Riku exclaimed.

Before he and Mickey could even wonder where the arrow had come from, Kocoum and several other men emerged from the bushes and aimed their arrows directly at the duo who spun around in further alarm, wondering where these people had come from. The natives held their aim true while Riku held a tight grip on his Keyblade, ready to fight when Mickey, seeing how they were out numbered, dismissed his Keyblade and held out a hand to stop him. When the teenager looked at him questionly, the King shook his head in a silent gesture to not fight as they are the natives who probably only want to defend their home.

Despite not wanting to get caught, Riku sighed and took the hint before dismissing his Keyblade and he and Mickey held up their hands in the air in surrender. Kocoum and the men moved closer with caution before four of them roughly grabbed Riku by the arms and pushed him down to his knees, tying his hands behind his back with rope. Two more approached Mickey who gazed at Riku worriedly before the King was roughly grabbed by the arms and slung over one of the men's shoulders.

"Ow!" Mickey cried out at the roughness before being held onto the man's shoulder. "Hey! Put me down!" He protested.

"_**Bring these beasts to the village. We can not have them return to the other white men.**_" Kocoum ordered the men in another language, one that neither Riku or Mickey understood. He then took the lead down the path, with the men doing as they were commanded. The four Indians pulled Riku up and forced him to walk forward despite his struggling, and the other two followed, with Mickey trying to free himself while trapped on his captor's shoulder.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the other side of the river where a ship was docked, Aqua was attacking every single Heartless mercifully with combinations of slashes and grace, magic and darkness. She sped towards a large shield Heartless and struck it down with ease by even destroying it's own shield. It roared in pain before vanishing into oblivion behind her while she crouched slightly after delivering the finishing move.

She kept going until the Heartless, seeing how dangerous the former Wielder of Light was, decided to retreat for now as Aqua stood up, glaring at the monsters that escaped while she dismissed Riku's Way to Dawn Keyblade for the time being.

"**I guess even they are cowards. But...they are searching for someone. A new Light.**" Aqua darkly muttered. Despite the darkness having corrupted her almost completely, she could still sense the presence of light and darkness in others.

Which was why she felt a jolt of more presence of light and darkness beyond the trees that made her glance quickly to her right. Eyes narrowing in suspicion, the former blue-haired woman followed the presence against her better judgement. She sensed darkness, but it lingered and not as powerful as the darkness that covered her whole. But close enough. She stood behind a couple of trees and stared out into the clearing of an unfamiliar young man with spiky blonde hair, blue sharp eyes, and dressed in black with a large sword covered in bandages.

Cloud who had left Olympus and managed to make his way here to this world in his search for Sephiroth, but was ambushed by Heartless which he was fighting against right now. He was just finishing up with a might swing to the side, eliminating a Heartless that resembled to an antolope. He looked around with caution for anymore signs of the Heartless, and was satisfied when he saw none and put away his weapon for the time being.

"These things are getting on my nerve." Cloud grumbled to himself, only to hear movement behind and spun around quickly to see a large man dressed in maroon clothing and black pigtailed hair followed by a skinny brown-haired man dressed in yellow, a black haired man and a red haired man with a matching beard, the latter two carrying guns.

These were Ratcliffe the large man, Wiggins the skinnier one, Ben the black haired man, and Lon the red haired man.

"Who are you, intruder?" Ratcliffe demanded, glaring hard at Cloud who narrowed his eyes at the man in return, not liking him already.

"My name is Cloud. I'm not here to cause problems." The younger man replied.

"Lad, how did you fight those monsters without a gun?" Ben asked first, stunned in awe.

"And isn't that sword heavy?" Lon added incredulously.

"Just practice." Cloud answered nonchalantly. "I know those monsters are bad news, that's why I fight them."

"Very unusual name for someone like him." Wiggins whispered to Ratcliffe who ignored him and instead gazed at the young swordsman.

"Excellent. We could use a young man such as you." Ratcliffe remarked with a smirk.

Cloud gazed at him suspiciously. "For what?"

"You see, we came to this land looking for Gold, but it is very clear that savages who have invaded our property have them, and will not allow us to have it." The large man explained.

"Savages?" Cloud asked, a bit incredulously. He then said sarcastically, "I didn't know monsters were fond of gold."

"That's not funny, lad." Ben rolled his eyes. "The Indians almost killed us a few days ago."

"And there's even a tree that moves it's roots." Lon added, nervously.

"Well, I'm not a fan of gold, but I'm looking for someone." Cloud stated, and hidden within the trees observing him and the other men, Aqua's eyes narrowed when she heard this.

So this Cloud was looking for someone? It gave Aqua memories of her adventures before things feel apart twelve years ago. With herself, Ven and...Terra. In fact, Cloud reminded her of her friend who had been tricked into doing Xehanort's bidding and now was still missing.

"Looking for someone, eh?" Ratcliffe scoffed. "A friend of yours?"

Cloud scoffed in return. "He wishes."

"Well, if you help us kill these Indians, perhaps we will help you find this man who is an enemy. Perhaps we can reward you a place in Virginia Company." Ratcliff offered, with a dark gleam in his eyes.

Hearing this words and seeing the dark gleam made Cloud hold a slightly shocked expression, as memories of both of another company he knew off and his bad choice in making a deal with Hades about offerings and about killing people just to look for Sephiroth resurfaced. This guy expects him to kill people just for gold and for Sephiroth? And even worse, Ratcliffe wants to hire him to work for this Virginia Company? That didn't sit well with him at all, and despite that he knew nothing about these Indians, Cloud didn't want to kill anyone just for Sephiroth, and the fact that there was potentially a war for Gold about to happen disgusted him.

"Not interested." Cloud replied, turning to his left and began to walk away into the forest.

"You dare to walk away, you fool?" Ratcliffe demanded angrily after he and his men stared at Cloud's retreating form in shock. "Or are you siding with the savages?"

Cloud stopped, but didn't look back. "I'm only looking for the person to settle the score. I don't care about gold, but I don't kill people just for what or who I'm looking for either. The monsters on the other hand, they're the ones you really should be worried about." He told them firmly.

With that, he walked off, leaving behind the bewildered men behind. Once Cloud was out of eavesdrop, however, Ratcliff turned to his men and growled angrily. "It has become clear, men. He is with the savages and has tricked us! He is about to report to the indians that we are after the gold and will double their men! We must double ours and prepare for battle."

He turned to Ben and Lon and ordered, "Find John Smith!"

"But what if we run into Cloud, the monsters and the Indians?" Lon asked, nervously.

"That's what guns are for." Ratcliffe pointed out, growling again. "Now arm yourselves and get moving!"

Still observing the whole thing, Aqua decided it was enough and began to walk away herself, deciding to secretly follow Cloud's path.

'_**His heart is clouded in darkness. Seeking revenge on one who has done something. Perhaps his goal is like mine; a friend has betrayed him and now his heart has led him here. If so, then lessons must be learned...as well as taking out Mickey and Riku. They're here. I can feel it.**_' Aqua thought darkly to herself as she walked on.

She didn't understand why those two were wasting their time in looking for her, but if they think she can be saved, her former friend and the young man were mistaken. But first, Aqua must speak with Cloud...and if she is wrong about him, teach him a lesson.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kocoum and his men continued to force Riku towards their village while one of them continued to tightly hold the struggling Mickey on the shoulder before the group came to a stop in front of a large hut, larger than the ones around them. There stood the Chief, Powhatan, who was a tall muscular man with long, black hair that was only on one side of his head and had a few eagle feathers in his hair. He was dressed in robes made from some kind of animal skin like the rest of the Indians.

"Great Powhatan." Kocoum greeted, this time in English. "We have captured one of the white men, and a strange creature who has sided with them. They were fighting the black monsters and seem to be searching for our village."

Powhatan nodded, turning his eyes to Riku who was forced to look up at him, while Mickey was lowered from the shoulder and held by the arms by the man who had held him captive, and another and left dangling in the air.

"Why are you fighting these monsters your people have brought upon us?" The Chief demanded to Riku who along with Mickey could only blink in confusion.

"Huh?" Riku said.

"Please, sir. We only just came here today." Mickey spoke up pleadingly. "We mean you no harm. We're here to stop the Heartless, the black monsters you're talkin' about."

"Why should I believe you?" Powhatan asked.

"Because it's the truth, sir." Riku answered this time. "None of us even know what's going on. The only people we met today are all of you."

"They're lying. These savages are trying to trick us." Kocoum warned the Chief, glaring hard at Riku and Mickey.

"Kocoum, let them finish what they have to say." Powhatan told him firmly, making the younger man stand down. "You say these monsters are called the Heartless, and that you have nothing to do with them appearing."

Mickey nodded, "The other only reason we're is because we're lookin' for a friend of mine who...well...somethin' terrible happened to her that's causing her to hurt other people, and I know that she was never like that before. Her name is Aqua, and the Heartless might've gotten to her that's changed her almost completely."

"And you wish to save her from these creatures? Yet you are not aware of the other white men who have invaded our home." Powhatan questioned, and both Riku and Mickey nodded.

Kocoum only glared in utter distrust, while Powhatan gazed at them before sighing. "Tell me your names."

"Riku." Riku simply responded.

"And I'm Mickey." Mickey added.

"Very unusual names." Powhatan murmured, thinking about what he has heard before making his decision. "Very well, Riku, Mickey. If you will fight these monsters, then you are free to go. As long as you do not harm our people."

"Chief!" Kocoum protested.

"They intend to defeat this Heartless and search for a friend. They came on their own. They are allies." Powhatan assured the younger man, before ordering the other men to release their prisoners. Hesitant, the Indians did as commanded, Mickey being set down gently while Riku was freed from his binds and allowed to stand up, rubbing his sore wrists as he did so.

"Are you okay, Riku?" Mickey asked, worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Riku reassured.

"I hope that your friend will be found, and returned to the right path." Powhatan wished them.

"Thank you, sir." Mickey and Riku both chorused, bowing their respects to the Chief, which was a bit of a surprise of Powhatan and the Indians, even though Kocoum continued to gaze at the two with complete distrust, even as they turned and walked away to continue their search for Aqua.

* * *

Randomly following a river as they continued their search for Aqua, Riku and Mickey fought off the Heartless along the way, and while the duo thought they were getting closer, it felt more like they were following the lead of a new Heart of Light, which made no sense to either of them.

"Searching for a Guardian of Light, I see." A familiar vemonous voice spoke, alarming Riku and Mickey to stop in their tracks and looked around to find the source. They didn't have to look far, because there stood leaning against a tree was the fake Ansem, his arms crossed and gazing at the duo with his usual cruel smirk.

"Ansem!" Riku hissed angrily, as he and Mickey both quickly stood in defense, ready to fight if they had to.

"Why are you here?" Mickey demanded.

"I think it should be obvious, little King." 'Ansem' scoffed in amusement. "You are wasting your time searching in this world."

"If you're trying to slow us down, you can forget it." Riku grunted, glaring at his nemisis. "And since you're here, you're the one who's sent out the Heartless to this world."

The Heartless of Xehanort chuckled darkly. "Nothing gets past you, Riku. You certainly have grown since the time you served me within the Darkness. Then again, that time was your moment to show your strength, to become who you really are."

Riku clentched his teeth. "No! I was naive back then, easy to trick. But not anymore! I'm not surrendering to darkness again."

"Riku's heart is a lot stronger than you think." Mickey added sternly. "Even within the deepest darkness, there's always a little bit of light."

"That may be." 'Ansem' said. "However, have you ever considered on how a heart full of light is consumed into pure darkness after years of wandering into darkness? Light fades back into shadow, as do hearts. In fact, the only reason why Sora was able to be saved, because of another heart within him has kept him safe."

He then pointed at Riku with his smirk fading into a deep frown. "That is why you were able to awaken Sora with your Power of Waking, Riku. But it will not help you to restore hearts of people."

"What?" Riku blinked, glaring hard.

"Once a heart full of pure light surrenders their power to another, they are no longer in any use to side with the light. And for a heart of light to linger in the realm of darkness for too long, it makes it easier to consume the heart into darkness." 'Ansem' continued.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, Ansem. Sora's heart is stronger than even mine." Riku retorted.

"Only because he has been saved by you and the others, same as you were saved by your king right next to you. It's a shame that he could not save those who are connected to Sora." 'Ansem' snickered, vanishing into darkness as he teleports away.

"Wait!" Riku cried out as he and Mickey raced over to try and stop him, but were too late as 'Ansem' was gone. The two stopped and Riku clutched his fist to stop himself from shaking. "A heart of pure light consumed by darkness? It has to be a trick."

"He's most likely tryin' to make you return to the darkness. Don't listen to him." Mickey adviced, before admitting in worry. "Though I can't help but feel like that what he said is what happened to Aqua, and if my guess is right, Ansem's the one who corrupted her heart into darkness."

"But if that's the case, why not take her with him and make her Xehanort's vessel sooner?" Riku asked, concerned.

The King thought about it, before his eyes widened as he came to a realization. "He's waitin' for Aqua's heart to be fully consumed in darkness! That's why they're taking their time. They know we're looking for her, and they're tryin' to stop us from saving her since she still has a little bit of light inside her."

"And the heart full of light here in this world. But...why not go after the Princesses?" Riku added.

"Hmmm...Good question." Mickey murmured thoughtfully, folding his arms to his chest. "But since Ansem's here lookin' for both Aqua and whoever has a heart full of light just like the Princesses of Heart, I think we should stay for a little while longer, just in case. Not to mention with the other folks those Indian people are havin' trouble with, somebody who's heart is being consumed in darkness is probably what brought Ansem and the Heartless here."

"Yeah. Whenever Ansem is around, it's a bad sign." Riku agreed.

With that in mind, Riku and Mickey continued down the path to try and find Aqua, unaware that the person with the heart full of pure Light was in the same direction, as well as an old friend of Sora, Donald and Goofy.

* * *

Back at the Mysterious Tower, Yen Sid was once again in his study as he gazed at the unexpected but not threatening visitor of Tifa Lockhart who, still searching for Cloud since Radiant Garden, was explaining her reason to him.

"...And that's why I found myself here. Sorry to borther you like this, sir." Tifa finished apologetically.

"It is perfectly all right, Tifa." Yen Sid reassured. "Unfortunately, I have not yet greeted your friend. However, I can tell you that I have heard of him from Sora, Donald and Goofy after their recent adventure in one of the worlds. Yet, from what I gather, Cloud is still searching for Sephiroth, and could very well have already set out to other worlds."

This only made the dark haired young woman sigh in disappointment. "Looks like I still have to find him on my own, and just when I'm close too."

"I can only wish to help you with our quest. But, if you follow your heart, it will most certainly lead you to your friend. Follow the guidance your heart gives, and it will lead you the way." The old sorcerer replied.

The female martial artist folded her arms in thought, stating. "I'm getting a feeling it's not as easy as it sounds. Especially with Sephiroth trying to force Cloud into darkness."

"As have others to their victims. But if there is anyone who can bring Cloud fully back to the light, it's you, Tifa. You are the light that will guide Cloud back from the darkness." Yen Sid told her wisely.

While Tifa did not understand the meaning of the words, she decided that Yen Sid had a good point. Plus she did give Cloud some of her light to help him fight off Sephiroth and the spiky haired man had protected her, since he didn't want her to get hurt. Or anyone else. Not after what happened to another friend of his who had died a long time ago. So she thanked him with a respectful bow before taking her leave to continue her quest.

Once Tifa had left, Yen Sid was left to his own thoughts, thinking about the situation which by now has suddenly gotten worse. If Sephiroth is seeking to consume Cloud's heart and make him his puppet, the same way Xehanort had done to Terra and Riku, and nearly done so to Sora, and since Sora had encountered Sephiroth twice before, then Sora's quest has taken another dark turn.

"Sora...I fear that Sephiroth may be looking for you to use the Key to Return Hearts to sent Cloud's heart into pure darkness. You had best be extremely careful, and not interfere until you gain the Keyblade, or at the very least the Power of Waking." Yen Sid spoke, even though he knew that the teenage boy would not hear him.

Yet he also knew that Sora's group weren't the only ones having disruptions on their journey.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that this chapter was short, but I'm trying to make the world of Pocahontas as long as possible even though I have a feeling it'll be shorter than Kuzco Empire. And I'm sorry for the lack of battles too since I still suck at battle scenes.**

**Hope I did okay with it. See you in the next chapter as soon as I'm able!**


	14. Chapter 13: Guiding Hearts

**A/N: Hey again, guys. Just so you know, I think this world will be shorter seeing how...well, you know. So...yeah, let's continue on, shall we? *Shrugs sheepishly***

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 13: Guiding Hearts.

Back in Jamestown, Riku and Mickey eventually found themselves standing just at the birch of a large tree where they spotted two people standing outside. One a young woman, Pocahontas, and a young man, a white man with wavy blond hair dressed in a light blue shirt, darker blue vest, navy pants and brown travelling boots, named John Smith, along with Meeko and Flint...and all four of them were surrounded by Heartless. Pocahontas held a spear made out of a sharp rock and a stick, while John held a rifle, standing back to back.

"Heartless!" Riku exclaimed.

"Oh no!" Mickey cried out.

Immediately knowing what to do, the two Keyblade Masters quickly summoned their weapons and hurried over to help the two people and the two small animals that were in trouble. They quickly knocked back the Heartless that kept the group trapped, much to their complete surprise, and, seeing how the young teenager and his companion were here to help, Pocahontas and John both nodded and joined the two new strangers in fighting the Heartless. Riku cast Blizzard that froze three Heartless which he took care off almost immediately, then dodge-rolled out of the way to avoid one of the Belly-Heartless from squashing him. Knowing it's weak spots, the silver haired teen slid quickly behind it and slashed at it's back at least three times quickly which eliminated it.

Mickey somersaulted three times in mid-air while taking out one of the Humming-bird-like Heartless, hitting it's wings while avoiding it's large needle-sharp beak that acted like a sword that he knew would cause serious damage. He then chanted Light to knock back a Plant-like Heartless before finishing it off by slashing at it in his speed and agility. Pocahontas slashed and clashed at a Shadow Heartless with her spear while John shot a Soldier Heartless, before kicking another back where it fell into the water, drowning.

Riku by then leaped up into the air and took out three Heartless all at once while saving both Pocahontas and John from another attack, and Mickey used Barrier to protect Meeko who was stunned in awe, and Flint who shivered in fear, from five Heartless that almost got them. Despite a few injuries, the group successfully took out the last of the Heartless before Mickey used Curaga to heal Riku, Pocahontas, John and himself, carefully gazing around before sighing in relief that the coast was clear for now.

"You okay?" Riku asked the group who nodded.

"That was very amazing." Pocahontas replied, and John nodded in agreement.

"How did you and your friend do that, kid?" John asked.

"Uh...Just practice, I guess." Riku shrugged. "Who are you?"

"My name is Pocahontas." Pocahontas answered. "No one in my village were able to defeat those creatures."

"And I'm John Smith, and my men have the same problem with those things." John added. "Who are you?"

"I'm Riku." Riku replied, adding as he introduced Mickey, "And this is Mickey."

"Hiya." Mickey greeted. "But gosh, the Heartless sure attacked outta nowhere."

"Heartless?" Pocahontas and John asked in unison, confused. Meeko, already liking Riku and Mickey, approached the two and gently tapped at Riku's Keyblade, grinning but moaned in disappointment when he and Mickey dismissed their weapons. Flint though flew up and squeaked a few times in an irritated manner, facing Riku who backed up in surprise.

"Whoa! What's with him?" Riku asked, blinking.

"Flint doesn't like strangers." Pocahontas explained as the hummingbird landed on Pocahontas's finger and turned his back to Riku and Mickey.

"Aw, we're not strangers. We're here to help." Mickey reassured, and laughed when Meeko climbed over him, poking at his face and ears. "H-hey! Ha-ha! That tickles!"

"Meeko, stop that!" Pocahontas scolded. The racoon grumbled, but did as he was told. "I'm sorry, Mickey. Meeko is a bit of a trouble maker and very curious."

"Not to mention he eats a lot." John added to himself.

"It's okay. I'm just ticklish." Mickey told them, before asking. "Say, did ya's always have the problem with the Heartless?"

"No. They only appeared not long after strange clouds appeared, and not only attacked my village, but also John and his people." Pocahontas explained.

The white man nodded, continuing, "Up until now, none of us had any idea what they were called or where they come from."

Riku and Mickey both shared a glance and frowned deeply, which only confirmed their suspicion; 'Ansem' was behind it. Though that still left the problem on what they heard earlier; Pocahontas was from the village of the natives that mistook them for a group of white men, which John Smith was one of them, and yet he seemed friendly, because he was friend with the young woman who seemed just as kind. Which meant that something odd was going on and a misunderstanding was taking place.

But before any of them could continue, a Heartless suddenly appeared by the group's side and made to attack. Alarmed, Riku, Mickey, Pocahontas, and John quickly stood in defense while Meeko and Flint screeched before hiding behind their friends. They didn't need to worry because Cloud suddenly appeared from among the trees and struck it down with a mighty slash of his sword, stunning the group who stared at him in confusion, shock, awe and slight suspicion.

"You okay?" Cloud asked after he stood up and put his sword away.

"Yeah, we're fine." Riku replied, a bit skeptically. There was darkness within this man, but at the same time, his heart also held light. Despite the appearances, Riku couldn't help but think that while the hair reminded him of Sora, Roxas and the Roxas-look-alike, the expression and inner feelings, reminded Riku of...himself.

"Who're you?" Mickey asked.

"Cloud." Cloud simply replied.

"Cloud? You were named after clouds?" Pocahontas queried, puzzled.

"First time I've heard of that too." John admitted.

"I guess you could say that." The spiky-haired young man shrugged.

"Cloud...Wait a minute! You wouldn't happen to know three guys named Sora, Donald and Goofy?" Riku asked, recognizing the name as the aforementioned trio's friend, whom they met up just recently before Riku himself and Mickey got back from the Realm of Darkness.

Cloud in return blinked in surprise himself. "You know Sora?"

"Yeah. He's my best friend." Riku replied, relaxing a little.

"Gosh! You're the friend of Sora, Donald and Goofy? They told us that you met up with them not that long ago." Mickey exclaimed, amazed.

"Small world, I guess." Cloud replied.

Mickey smiled, already sensing that he can trust Cloud. "Welp, it's a pleasure to meetcha, Cloud. I'm Mickey."

"My name's Riku." Riku added, and soon Pocahontas and John introduced themselves. Soon the group formed up and Pocahontas lead both her two best friends and all of their new friends towards the birch and all took seats on the ground where they explained a few things about what was going on, though Riku, Mickey and Cloud left out the knowledge of other worlds due to the World Order and told them about how dangerous the Heartless were.

John also explained that he was part of a crew that went out to sea to search for land along with Governor Radcliff. The heartless were causing a lot of problems for both Pocahontas's village and John's crew, so no one knew where they had come from. He had met Pocahontas a few days after he came and she has been showing him the beauty of the world, while John was showing her his many items from London, which Meeko always stole. Then, John told them that the rest of his crew only came here to dig the land up for gold.

"Yeah, I was offered to join the crew, which I denied." Cloud scoffed, remembering Ratcliffe's offer and the reason for searching gold.

"What's gold?" Pocahontas asked, puzzled.

"You know, it's, uh- it's, it's yellow. It comes out of the ground. It's really valuable." John explained.

"Oh, we have lots of it," Pocahontas smiled. She reached into a hand-made bag and pulled out an ear of corn and handed it to John, "See? Gold."

A bit of a pause.

"Um...That's not what he's talkin' about." Mickey told the native woman, reaching into his pockets and pulled out a piece of munny. "Gold is something like this."

As Pocahontas looked at it curiously, she shrugged. "There's nothing like that around here."

Meeko took the munny from Mickey's hand and tried to eat it, only to find that didn't taste good and was hard as a rock. Disappointed, the raccoon tossed it aside as though it was just a rock.

"All this way for nothing." John shook his head with a soft smile. "Well, those boys are in for a big surprise."

"Do I feel sorry for you when Ratcliffe hears that." Cloud shook his head as well.

"I guess that means you'll be leaving, right?" Riku queried.

"Well, some of us might." John replied, which Riku and Mickey both noticed a sad look in Pocahontas' eyes.

"Will you be going home?" The young woman asked.

The white man paused, before admitting. "Well, it's not like I have much of a home to go back to. I've never really belonged anywhere."

"You could belong here." Pocahontas suggested with a kind smile. She and John gazed at each other, their faces inching closer in what appeared to be a kiss, which Riku, Mickey and Cloud politely turned to give them space, only for the silver-haired teen to hear some kind of sound that sounded like a song. He looked up and blinked in surprise when he could of sworn he saw a face appear in the back of a tree before it vanished. Apparently the others did too and only Pocahontas, Meeko and Flint were not alarmed.

"What was that?" Riku asked.

"Did you see something?" Pocahontas asked.

"Um...No. I think I was just seeing things." He replied, and John nodded in agreement, while Mickey and Cloud both looked a bit uncertain as they shared a glance, though the King shrugged, just as lost as the swordsman.

"Look again." Pocahontas told them, her smile never leaving.

The four of them looked at the tree one more time, and saw a face of an old, wise woman appear on the bark with a kind smile. She then greeted, "Hello, John Smith, Riku, Cloud and Mickey."

Riku and Mickey shared a confused look while Cloud was speechless in shock at the sight of a talking tree. John looked a bit more alarmed, whispering to Pocahontas, a bit nervously. "Pocahontas...that tree is talking."

"Then you all should talk to her." Pocahontas suggested to the group, who all looked uneasy, not certain on what to say.

"Don't be frightened my dears, my bark is worse than my bite," Grandmother Willow said to them.

"Uhh...At least she has a sense of humor." Cloud responded, which made the tree smirk.

"W-what do you say to a tree?" Riku asked.

Mickey blinked, "I guess anything?"

Still not certain, the group stood up as Grandmother Willow examined Riku and Mickey. "I see you're looking for a special friend who's heart has been clouded. Something must have happened to the poor child."

"T-that's right. But how'd you know?" Riku replied.

"Your hearts guided you here. They connect to one another as well as others. And you're also here to put a stop of those horrid creatures, am I right?" Grandmother Willow said.

"Yep. We've been fightin' them for a long time and we're hoping to stop them for good, and to help our friend Aqua to...well...go back to bein' her old self again. Problem is, I'm pretty sure she's angry with me for takin' too long in tryin' to save her." Mickey admitted, guilt once again rising in his chest.

Grandmother Willow could sense the sadness and guilt within the King's heart, and said. "But you still believe in her. You should not give up. You and Riku both have such good hearts, and as such, you both will be able to find your friend, and bring her back to the light. With the help of another with a heart so strong he could even do the impossible and save everyone around him."

"You're talking about Sora." Riku realized. Boy, Grandmother Willow was very wise, that he couldn't help but feel at ease, liking her already.

Grandmother Willow nodded, and turned to Cloud. "You too have a good heart, young man. But there is sadness within you."

"I guess there's no point in hiding that. The person responsible in...well...losing one of the people I cared about is out there, and he's pretty dangerous." Cloud sighed, knowing that he can't hide his feelings from Grandmother Willow, especially since she managed to talk about Sora. "But recently, I learned to keep on going, with all my heart."

That statement surprised Riku as he gazed at Cloud. The older man was really like him, and from what he heard from Sora, Cloud wanted to settle a score with Sephiroth, and now he knew why; like with Aqua, Terra, Ventus, and Lea, Cloud had lost a friend, and Sephiroth was responsible, and yet his heart was a target for the one-winged man who was much like Xehanort, but in his own mysterious ways.

"You should be careful, and always let your heart guide you." Grandmother Willow suggested. After Cloud nodded, the tree finally turned to John Smith and said to Pocahontas, winking at her. "He also has a good heart, and he's handsome too."

John immediately relaxed, smirking. "Oh, I like her."

"I knew you would." Pocahontas smiled happily, hugging him. Riku, Mickey and Cloud relaxed even more as the shock of the tree talking disappeared all together. Just then they all heard a voice that Cloud and John recognized; it was Ben who, along with Lon, were looking for John, calling out to him.

"Uh oh!" Mickey softly gasped.

"We can't let them see us!" John exclaimed.

"Quick! Over here." Grandmother Willow gestured, allowing the group to hide around her. Mickey and Riku hidden themselves by climbing her and in the branches, while Cloud hid within the bushes and both Pocahontas and John hid behind the tree herself.

Lon was looking around nervously. "This place gives me the creeps. Savages and those monsters could be hiding anywhere."

"Aye." Ben nodded in agreement. "Well, if you spot one, don't ask questions. Just shoot."

Grandmother Willow smirked and then raised one of her roots when they weren't looking, causing both men to trip and clumsily fall to the ground. Ben glared at Lon and grunted, "Watch your feet, you oaf!"

"It wasn't me. It was this tree, like the one with yellow eyes earlier!" Lon protested defensively.

"Oh, of course! This tree just felt like lifting it's roots and-" Ben spoke sarcastically, but as he and Lon looked back, they saw, to their shock and growing fear that the root was up and then lowered itself back down to it's original position.

The two were silent before Ben muttered fearfully, "Let's get out of here."

Within the branches, Mickey and Riku both covered their mouths, silently snickering in amusement, shaking in laughter. Grandmother Willow's smirk grew as she then lifted her roots once more and smacked the backsides of the two white men hard.

"OW!" Both Ben and Lon cried out.

"Run!" Ben shouted, turning back the way he and Lon came from, with the latter quickly one second behind.

"But what about Smith!?" The red haired man protested.

"He's a big lad! He can take care of himself."

And with that, the two men ran away as fast as their legs could carry them. As soon as they were gone, Riku, Mickey, Cloud, Pocahontas and John emerged with the former two laughing and even Cloud was shaking in laughter.

"I seriously like you, ma'am." Cloud remarked, trying hard not to burst into laughter.

"There's still some snap in these old vines." Grandmother Willow replied teasingly.

While John was amused himself, he sighed as he knew he couldn't linger around any longer. "I'd better get back before they send the whole camp out after me."

"You sure you should head back by yourself?" Riku asked.

"I'll be fine." John reassured.

"I'm not sure if it's such a good idea." Mickey pointed out. "The Heartless could have been sent after you and Pocahontas. Someone should go with you and someone should go with her to her village...though I don't think Kocoum would like to see any of us with her."

"I'll go with John as far as half way to camp. I don't think those guys would like to see me again either, after I rejected their proposal." Cloud told the group.

"Then we'll take Pocahontas back to her village." Riku declared, and Mickey nodded in agreement. Pocahontas and John nodded in agreement.

"Let's meet up here again tonight." Mickey suggested.

With that in mind, Cloud and John headed back towards the shore while Riku, Mickey and Pocahontas headed towards the village. Unaware that hiding in the bushes was Aqua who glared angrily at the group. She then found herself torn between following Cloud once more, or following Mickey's group...But the sight of Pocahontas flared something up within her heart.

That light...the light she sensed earlier...it was coming from the native woman.

'_She's...the one with a heart full of pure light._' Aqua's inner, more gentle thoughts echoed, making her eyes widen in shock. It was happening again; like back at Castle Oblivion and just as it had been before, her yellow eyes faded into her original blue, and she held a hand to her head, moaning as she stepped away.

As soon as it started, it faded and her eyes were again yellow, and Aqua's scowl grew once more, mists of darkness forming around her as she took several steps back, far from Grandmother Willow and into the open to think to herself...or perhaps the darkness going all the thinking and talking to her.

"**They're not here to find me. They were only guided to do as they were told; protect the light and fight the darkness. It was always like that, right from the beginning.**" Aqua hissed to herself, but the light within her, her weaker self, was struggling to protest, but she held it back. It wasn't who she was anymore.

"Light is such a nuisance, isn't it?" A smooth, cold voice spoke.

Sensing movement, Aqua spun around and saw to her right was Sephiroth, who had appeared silently as he had arrived in his own own search. He held his usual cold and dark smirk. "It only drives away one's true potential. I see you are finally learning the truth of reality."

"**I did not ask for you opinion. Who are you, and what do you want with me?**" Aqua snarked, glaring with distrust at the man who looked more Heartless than she was, especially with the single back wing. She summoned Riku's Keyblade and took a stance.

"It's not you that I'm after. You can relax." Sephiroth replied, unfazed by the transformed young woman's reaction. He then calmly approached her while continuing, "What I want, is the one who I hold darkness over. But the only way to take full control over him, is to seek someone with the power of the Keyblade, as well as a key that can destroy the very light itself from one's heart. The Key to Return Hearts; it has the power to destroy the light and bring forth the darkness."

Aqua continued to tense, but still didn't move even as Sephiroth was directly in front of her. Though she couldn't help but feel rather curious over the man's words despite her former self's better judgement. "**The Key...to Return Hearts?**"

"To the darkness where they belong." Sephiroth responded. "That is exactly where your heart is going, but it will not fall completely into the Realm of Darkness. Your heart is strong enough to keep you in the form you were born in while showing off your true self."

"**I thought once a heart fell into darkness, they become those creatures who dwell in darkness.**" Aqua pointed out, even as the darkness around her faded.

The silver haired man snorted. "That is what your so called friends once told you. You see, only those with weak hearts shall turn into those mindless creatures, only seeking hearts without purpose. But you and I are the true potential, and there are others who will soon follow."

"**...If it's not me you're after to help you find this Key to Return Hearts, then who is it, if you know about the Keyblade?**" Aqua questioned, suspiciously, relaxing her stance a little as she stood straight, but didn't dismiss the Keyblade as she didn't want to let her guard down.

"You will know soon enough." Sephiroth replied, turning before walking away. He did pause and glanced back at the possessed young woman. "Continue seeking your revenge on those who betrayed you, and all others who continue to foolishly follow the Light. End their lives, and show them that the darkness is the true power."

With that, Sephiroth teleported himself away and vanished despite Aqua holding out her darkened hand, but she was too late as the mysterious one-winged angel was gone. Yet the more Sephiroth's words echoed in her mind, the more it was allowing the darkness to slowly consume her heart, no matter how much her inner-self was struggling since the realm of darkness. Which was why she headed into the direction she knew that Riku, Mickey and Pocahontas had taken.

To seek out revenge.

* * *

Riku, Mickey and Pocahontas made it back to the village in no time, while the two Keybladers protected their new friend from the Heartless along the way. Things already seemed to be heating up within the village, just as more Indians rowed towards the shores where Powhatan and the rest of his people greeted them.

"Something is happening." Pocahontas spoke.

Riku and Mickey both nodded in agreement, and as the shared a look with the young woman, just then the two travellers saw a quick glimpse of dark yellow eyes gleaming in their minds and a powerful scent of darkness, along with the ever so slightly fading light of someone very familiar along with it. Turning to look behind them, their and Pocahontas's eyes widened as someone was quickly approaching; the white hair, tanned skin, yellow eyes...and Riku's old Keyblade.

"Aqua!?" Mickey exclaimed in disbelief, shock, fear, relief and worry. His heart hammered, torn between trying and talk sense into his possessed friend, and keeping Pocahontas safe.

"Is she...?" The native young woman began.

Realizing that Pocahontas was in grave danger, Riku turned to her and told her. "Head back to the village, quickly. It's too dangerous here right now."

Despite not wanting to leave them behind, Pocahontas eyed Aqua for a moment and somehow could sense that...deep within the dark shell of the woman, was someone more kinder and gentle, trapped within her own heart and knew that this was not her place to help and try to return her to the light. Reluctantly nodding, Pocahontas turned and quickly raced back towards her village while Riku and Mickey stood until they were certain that she was safe for now and turned their attention to Aqua who stopped half way towards them, glaring with pure anger.

"Aqua...What are you doin' here?" Mickey asked carefully.

"**I told you before, Mickey.**" The former blue-haired woman began darkly. "**I'm wandering ****the Realm of Light, to teach others that friendship is very weak.**"

"This isn't like you!" Mickey protested, hoping that his voice can still reach the real Aqua within the dark hybrid shell that took over her body. "You'd never hurt others, and your friends gave you the strength to fight the darkness. Gosh, we've been lookin' for you."

"**No. The only reason you're here is to protect that girl, the one with the heart full of light. But her heart is leading her down the wrong path, just as I had been. Everyone, including you, that I have been friends with, are too covered in the light to realize the truth. You left me alone, Terra abandoned us for Xehanort, and Ven refused to listen. Master Eraqus never really cared about us. Only the Light within the worlds!**" Aqua growled, which shocked Mickey and Riku.

"You're wrong!" The King snapped, tears starting to form as his heart began to break in the realization that Aqua was slowly becoming lost. "Aqua, I know you're still in there. Don't let the darkness win! We wanna help you!"

Aqua could only scoff, not heading Mickey's words. "**You want to help? Then do me a favor...and share the darkness within my heart!**"

Her aggressive words pierced Riku's heart. This was what he was like when 'Ansem' took control over his heart, blinding him into believing Sora had abandoned him and Kairi. Drowning his heart into darkness until it was too late. But then Maleficent only fueled the illusion of betrayal and hearing Aqua say these things made him realize that either Maleficent had gotten to her, or 'Ansem' or Xehanort or anyone else in the true Organization XIII had gotten to her and he and Mickey were too late...

Or someone else with a similar goal had done this. Either way, Riku knew now, that they had to bring as much light back into Aqua and keep her hidden and safe from the darkness until Sora found the Key to Return Hearts. Despite that he knew that Mickey didn't want to fight Aqua, Riku knew now that there was no other choice; he didn't give Sora the choice in whether he wanted to fight or not, but Sora still believed in him and had continously tried to bring him back to the light and saving Kairi.

Now it was Riku's turn to do the same.

"There's no need." Riku spoke up as gazed at Aqua challegingly, to which Mickey looked up at him in surprise and no small amount of shock. "I got my own."

Knowing what has to be done, Riku summoned the Braveheart Keyblade, considering how Aqua was in possession of his Way to Dawn Keyblade. Mickey looked back and forth between his two friends and while he didn't want to fight Aqua, he knew that it had to be done sooner or later. It was the only way to bring her back to the light. After a mental fight within himself, Mickey followed Riku's lead and summoned the Kingdom Key W, knowing he was going to regret in fighting Aqua.

Riku and Mickey stood in defense while Aqua did the same, before she sped up towards the two other Keyblade Masters who quickly dodged on both sides before she could even strike them. She turned her attention to Mickey who quickly blocked her attack, their Keyblades clashing as they went before he leaped to the side and Aqua then easily blocked Riku who had rushed over to help the King, but was shocked when she easily detected him. Riku jumped back and cast Dark Thunderaga which seemed a direct hit, but Aqua was only stuned a little before cartwheeling to the side and around even as he and Mickey kept an eye on her.

Aqua chanted a dark Firaga of her own which Mickey and Riku both avoided only to find that it was following them and split into several dark orbs of fire everywhere they went. Mickey chanted Pearl while Riku cast Firaga, but Aqua blocked both attacks and charged again, knocking them both back without them even realizing it. They screamed out in pain before flipping backwards and landed safely despite their magic running low already. Mickey and Riku both used Curaga and then attempted to avoid Aqua's attacks even though she was gracefully fast. Mickey found an opening and somersaulted while striking her, causing Aqua to cry out in pain and even more anger.

Using this distraction, Riku slashed and clashed against her despite that she proceeded to heal herself as well and attempted to force him back. But Mickey came to his aid and the two dual-locked, the two Keyblade locking with Aqua's stolen one. It didn't last long as she lifted the Keyblade away and attempted to thrust them back.

"No, you don't!" Riku grunted, blocking the attack once more while Mickey leaped and whacked Aqua in the stomach, sending her backwards. The two companions then shared a look and nodded in unison, knowing what needs to be done.

"C'mon!" Mickey held out his hand to Riku who grasped it.

"Time's up!" Riku chanted, the two of them once again forming in a double attack, spinning around and around while their combined magic spun and spread out. Aqua attempted to attack them and break through, but due to the darkness, she felt the agony of the power of light from the two other Keyblade Masters. By the time they were done, Aqua was pushed back and slumped forward a little, panting in exhaustion. Though both Riku and Mickey didn't fare any better as it had been a tough battle, especially against a corrupted Keyblade Master.

Unfortunately, Aqua was quick enough to recover and sent out a gust of wind into their direction and despite Riku and Mickey attempting to avoid in being blown back while using their Keyblades to shield themselves, struggling, they were sent flying backwards and hit the ground hard, their Keyblades dismissing themselves and most of their strengths leaving them. Wasting no time, Aqua sped forward despite being worn out herself, deciding to attack Riku first.

Mickey pushed himself up and, horrified to see what was happening as did Riku who's energy was spent, the King grunted in pain before quickly leaping in front of him and spread his arms out to protect him from Aqua's killing blow, much to Riku's horror.

"MICKEY!" Riku screamed out, reaching out but too exhausted and drained to help him.

No sooner had Mickey stood in front of Riku to risk his own life to save him, and Riku screaming out his name that Aqua felt a painful jolt that seemed stronger than before. Time seemed to slow down for her, as suddenly memories of her adventures, ones that were with Mickey, came flooding back.

* * *

_Aqua's Memories..._

_Aqua stood in front of a terrified four year old red haired girl just as an Unversed leaped to attack them, when suddenly Mickey leaped from behind out of nowhere with a battle cry and swiped the monster with his Star Seeker Keyblade, destroying it in a single hit, before landing in front of the two stunned girls, glaring at the monsters._

_"Hurry! Ya gotta get that girl to someplace that's safe!" Mickey told Aqua._

_"Who are you?" Aqua demanded, suspiciously at the unexpected rescuer, eying the very familiar weapon. Where did this humanoid mouse get one? "Why do you have a Keyblade?"_

_"I'll tell ya later." Mickey glanced back at her for a moment, adding urgently as he turned back to the Unversed. "Right now, we gotta stop these things!"_

_Deciding that he had a point and that she had to trust him in this, Aqua quickly scooped up the girl in one arm and hurried down stairs while Mickey soon found himself surrounded._

_Another memory:_

_Awakening from unconsciousness, Aqua found that she was lying on her back, gazing up at the sky where the heart shaped moon hovered, one that Master Xehanort summoned._

_"Gosh, I'm glad you're okay." A familiar voice spoke in relief._

_Look to her right, Aqua saw that it was Mickey who was beside her, and the relief on his face was apparent, the hints of worry were in his eyes which told her that, after recovering when she found him unconscious in the Lanes Between, he came here to help._

_Another memory:_

_Just as Aqua thought that Ven was safe as he seemed to have thawed out and recovered, she was shocked to see that his eyes were no longer blue, but golden yellow...much like Xehanort's. He held a cold grin and a deadly looking weapon that looked like a cross of two Keyblades, with a sharp sword. He swung to strike her while she remained frozen, unable to think for a moment. Luckly before she ended up killed, Mickey quickly leaped to the side and blocked the attack with his Keyblade, sending the dangerous weapon off course._

_Sending the boy back, Mickey stood between him and Aqua with his arms spread out to protect her as he had sensed that something was terribly wrong._

_"That's not Ven!" Mickey stated accusingly._

_Ven's green armor melted away into darkness, revealing a black and red outfit, one that both of them knew belonged to Vanitas as he spoke, both in his own voice as well as Vanitas'. "__**Correct. I am not Ventus. His heart has become part of mine now...**__"_

* * *

The memories stopped and Aqua found herself gasping in shock and for a brief moment her eyes quickly flashed from yellow to blue and her body began to become covered in light. Which forced her to divert her aim and instead struck the ground just in front of Mickey, narrowly avoiding in slicing him in half. The King softly gasped, wondering why she hit the ground and not him. To add to the confusion, Aqua leaped back and stood a few feet away from him and Riku who looked up, also confused.

It was then they saw that light and darkness were covering Aqua's body, and like a fragmentary static image, her original form appeared like a ghost in front of her, panting in agony and struggle of control. Weak both mentally and physically, Aqua looked up, her original self gazing at Mickey with a look of guilt, fear and sorrow, echoed by her current corrupted form.

"...Aqua?" Mickey asked, hesitatingly. Could he dare to hope? Was his friend in front of him trying to fight back the darkness?

Not certain with herself and her real self struggling but unable to be around and not wanting to kill the King who had saved her life and helped her to try and save her friends, Aqua struggled with herself, shakely grasping the Way to Dawn before turning behind her and summoned a Corridor of Darkness before forcing herself to run right into it.

"Aqua, wait!" Mickey cried out pleadingly, racing over to follow her. But it was too late as the portal closed the moment his fellow Keyblade Master had entered, forcing him to slow to a stop. He stood there for a moment, shaken at the fact that he failed to stop her again, failing to help her drive away the darkness that was in her heart.

He lowered his head in guilt, struggling to hold back the urge to cry.

"Mickey?"

The King didn't look up to acknowledge Riku, who, after a bit of struggle, stood up and approached him, bending on one knee next to him with a concerned and sympathized expression.

"...She's still in there. Aqua's fightin' the darkness that got to her. It's faint, but...her light's fightin'." Mickey murmured, his heart heavy in guilt, yet there was hope that began to reform.

Riku nodded. He'd seen it too, because the way how Aqua forced herself to stop from killing Mickey was the same way he held 'Ansem' back from killing Kairi, Donald and Goofy in Hollow Bastion two years ago. He had appeared like that with all of his heart's strength before he faded away, and while his heart won the battle, his body didn't. He just hoped that Aqua wouldn't end up losing her body and then her heart would be sent into the abyss of darkness all over again by the time Sora, Donald and Goofy find the Key to Return Hearts.

"We'll bring her back." Riku told him comfortingly, gently placing a hand onto Mickey's shoulder, making the latter gaze up at him, tears visible in his eyes but now yet falling free. "I'm sorry that I couldn't defend myself again."

Mickey wiped away the tears before smiling gratefully at his friend. "It's okay, Riku. Aqua is a Keyblade Master, and the battles ahead of us won't be easy. I'm just glad that you're okay."

The younger Keyblade Master nodded, before suggesting. "Maybe we should stick around a bit longer."

"Good idea." Mickey nodded in agreement, gazing at the direction of the village. "If Aqua's right, then Pocahontas is in danger, and so are her people and John. Especially since she's the light of this world and I got a feelin' the Organization are lookin' for other pure lights and not just the Princesses or us Guardians."

Riku nodded in agreement, and stood up while he and Mickey gazed at the village, deciding to wait around this area until night fall so that they can safely guide Pocahontas back to Grandmother Willow to meet up with Cloud and John.

Not yet aware that things would only get worse in this world.

* * *

Not long after she left Riku and Mickey to fight Aqua, Pocahontas emerged from the tall corn fields and into the opening of her village, just as more warriors had reached shore to greet her father, Powhatan, making her realize that the other Warrior Tribes had come, and if they were here, then that could only mean one thing.

"Pocahontas!" A woman's voice called out, causing her to turn to another native woman, her friend who approached after what happened earlier. "Are you crazy? What were you doing with one of them?"

Before Pocahontas could explain, Kocoum approached as he said, "There you are."

"Kocoum." Pocahontas muttered, mentally cringing as the man whom asked her father for her hand of marriage placed an arm around her.

"Look at them. Now we have enough warriors to destroy those white demons." The young man told her, and Pocahontas felt completely shocked.

Her people were willing to fight John's people who had come here, to fight them and she suddenly knew why; they all thought the white men were dangerous, not yet realizing that they intended on looking for something that wasn't here to begin with. Just after Powhatan made a speech to the natives to defeat their 'enemy', Pocahontas quickly slipped out of Kocoum's arm and hurried over to try and convince her father of the truth.

"Father, I need to speak with you." Pocahontas spoke up, but he cut her off.

"Not now, my daughter. The council is gathering." Powhatan told her, about to enter the hut, but stopped as she told him urgently.

"We don't have to fight them! There must be a better way." She exclaimed, causing him to turn to her.

"Sometimes our paths are chosen for us," He said.

Pocahontas shook her head, continuing. "But maybe we should try talking to them."

"They do not want to talk."

"But if one of them did want to talk, you would listen to him, wouldn't you?" She pleaded.

"Pocahontas, I-"

"Wouldn't you?" She urged.

Powhatan paused, and at his daughter's words he remembered the two who had not been with the other white people, and were looking for their friend while fighting against the monsters that invaded their home as did their 'enemy'.

Finally sighing and stroking Pocahontas's hair, he told replied as he had to make her understand. "Of course I would. But it is not that simple. Nothing is simple anymore."

With that, he turned and entered the hunt to prepare for the meeting with the council. Pocahontas only stood there, lowering her head. Her father's words echoed in her mind, but her heart was telling her other wise. This was a big misunderstanding, and she could only hope that John would convince his crew that they were not enemies and that Riku and Mickey would help save Aqua.

But as her father had said, nothing was simple anymore.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so maybe and hopefully the world of Pocahontas will be at least three chapters long. And Sephiroth had already made his move on Aqua despite her still fighting the darkness that was enough to stop herself from striking down Mickey and Riku. Will she be saved? Only time will tell.**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	15. Chapter 14: Which Path to Choose

**A/N: Managed to post a bonus chapter which will conclude the world of Pocahontas! So let's continue on through the adventure!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 14: Which Path to Choose.

She hasn't teleported far from where she fought against King Mickey and Riku, but Aqua was in a mental struggle with herself right now. Between the battle against the two other Keyblade Masters, her heart reacting uncontrollably, and the exhaustion of summoning the Corridor of Darkness to take herself away had near drained her. Panting, and while her light was still fighting, the image of her former self faded back into her corrupted heart, just as worn as her body felt.

Which as she leaned against a tree just near the camp of the settlers, darkness took hold once more, and now the corruption was making once again think bitterly at her own 'worthless' actions. Hissing in anger and self disgust, Aqua clutched her fist before punching the tree hard that it made it shake a little, and few leaves falling down from the branches.

"**Why...I had them where I wanted...Why couldn't I destroy them!?**" Aqua growled angrily to herself.

"It would seem the light is more difficult for you to eliminate than one might think."

Snapping her head up at the source of the voice, to her irritation and suspicion, Sephiroth stood there calmly, as he continued. "Especially when those who had never had accepted their own darkness are too absorbed with their own light."

"**You're suggesting that Mickey's light is the main problem?**" Aqua queried sarcastically.

"Light is a dangerous source that drives away the darkness. It holds the memories of the lies you have lived through, to continue to remind you and fool you into believing what you thought was correct. It's clear that those two and their friends are your problem." Sephiroth replied, ignoring the sarcasm.

Aqua grunted in pain as she held a hand to her forehead, moaning as her mental struggle continued, the light within her continuing to resist. But the darkness that was cast onto her since the Realm of Darkness continued to grow stronger and stronger, Sephiroth's words only fueling the anger and hate and misery that covered her completely.

"**W-what are you...saying?**" She panted and moaned.

Sephiroth smirked coldly, "Let go of the illusion of your so called friendship. Ignore the light from those fools. They were never your allies. They were merely using you as a tool, a puppet of light with strings attatched. Let the darkness free you from your burden. Wait until the right moment to get your revenge, and end all those who are the source of the light."

By then, while the one-winged mad man finished his words and chuckled as he vanished, Aqua couldn't fight back anymore as she then felt her strength leave her before collapsing onto the ground, her world turning black.

* * *

Meanwhile, as Cloud and John made their way to where the latter's crew had set up camp, with Meeko following closely behind, the former stopped in mid-step as he felt a familiar feeling that was cold and dark, one that somehow wasn't apparent until now. He looked around cautiously as his brows narrowed in the sudden anger and fear, but he attempted to hold those feelings back.

And yet as soon as he felt it, it faded.

"What is it?" John's voice jarred Cloud back to reality, the slightly younger man gazing at the other man and Meeko who blinked in confusion, having noticed that Cloud stopped.

"It's nothing. I thought I heard something. Must've been my imagination." Cloud replied, lying a little. But he wasn't certain on whether what he felt was his imagination or not.

Despite being concerned for the spiky-haired young man, John felt it wasn't his place to press the issue. Instead the two continued until they were half way from the camp which was a fortress made from chopped down trees that Cloud told him that he would wait near the trees out of sight and keep an eye out on the Heartless until nightfall. John nodded in agreement and while Meeko hidden himself into John's bag, he continued onward to the fortress which was guarded by a young man with short red hair, dressed in green and brown and was holding a long rifle.

When John accidentally stepped on a stray twig, causing it to snap rather loudly, the young man turned around suddenly and pointed his gun at him.

"Easy, Thomas, it's me," John said, hands up in defence.

"Oh, John." Thomas the younger man breathed in relief. "I could've killed you."

Before John could reply, the two men from earlier, Ben and Lon, saw him and approached him with Ben exclaiming in both annoyance and relief. "Smith, there you are!"

"We were looking all over for you." Lon added, more relieved than his companion, just as Ratcliffe was storming up to them, more anger than anyone else, with Wiggins close behind.

"Smith!" The Governor growled. "Where have you been?"

"I was out scouting the terrain, sir." John explained.

"Excellent. Then you must know the Indians' whereabouts. But first, have you seen a young man who is allies with them? With very unusual hair and a large sword? He is on their side and we'll need that information for the battle." Ratcliffe informed.

John blinked in shock and confusion. "What battle?"

"We will eliminate these savages once and for all." The larger man informed.

"No! You can't do that." John protested, shocked to hear this. He had no idea what happened while he was out in the forest, but Pocahontas has shown him that the Indians are kind people once you get to know them. And given on what Cloud mentioned earlier, Ratcliffe must've come to a conclusion that the spiky haired swordsman was an enemy as well.

"Oh, can't I?" Ratcliffe raised his eyebrow, as he and the other men looked at John in confusion and shock.

"Look, we don't have to fight them." John told them, which only made Thomas look at him as though he lost his mind. "I met one of them."

"A savage?" Thomas exclaimed, shocked.

"They're not savages. They can help us, they know the land, they know how to navigate the rivers." John explained, and when Meeko, hearing this and having the piece of corn Pocahontas gave, snuck it into the man's hand which, feeling it and realizing the racoon was actually helping him and made a mental note to thank the 'bottomless pit' later, showed it to the others. "And look, it's food."

"What is it?" Lon asked, suddenly interested as the sight of the unusual produce actually looked tasty and was making him hungry.

"It's better than hardtack and gruel, that's for sure." John smirked.

"I like gruel." Wiggins stated with a silly grin.

Ratcliffe on the other hand, not wanting to believe any of this and believing John is making things up, stormed up and roared. "They don't want to feed us, you ninnies! They want to kill us, all of us! They've got our gold, and they'll do anything to keep it!"

"But there is no gold!" John interrupted, glaring at Ratcliffe.

"No gold?" Ben asked in disbelief as he, Lon and Wiggins held confused and shocked expressions, as realization formed even though they couldn't believe it. For one, it made sense since they haven't found any single speck of gold since they got here.

Ratcliffe on the other hand only smirked, and half sarcastically questioned. "And I suppose your little Indian friend told you this?"

"Yes." John replied strongly.

"Lies! Lies! All of it!" Ratcliffe yelled back, his anger and greed growing stronger. "Murderous thieves! There's no room for their kind in civilized society."

"But this is their land!"

"This is _my_ land! I make the laws here. And I say anyone who so much as looks at an Indian without killing him on sight will be tried for treason and hanged!" By then Ratcliffe and John were glaring at each other face to face. "And those who are not an Indian but ally themselves with them will be sentenced to death themselves!"

With that, Ratcliffe stormed off back to his tent, Wiggins following behind him while the rest of the settlers went back to their daily routine. John stood there, sighing as he gazed to the ground.

He wished there was a way to convince everyone here that the Indians are not enemies, and hoped that Pocahontas was having better luck with her people. But that was just a wishful thinking. Even worse, Cloud, Riku and Mickey were about to get caught in the crossfire considering how neither side were willing to hear them out or fully trust them.

* * *

By the time night fell, Pocahontas, after a brief conversation with her friend who pleaded her to not go out again, met up with Riku and Mickey and the trio hurried back to Grandmother Willow, the two Keyblade wielders taking out the Heartless that seemed to be more relentless due to the night. The trio eventually made their way back and waited for Cloud and John to arrive as well.

As soon as Grandmother Willow saw them coming, her voice instantly took a serious tone, "The Earth is trembling, what's happened?"

"The warriors are here!" Pocahontas said, worriedly.

"Pocahontas," A familiar voice spoke from behind them, the group turned around to find John, Cloud and Meeko run towards them. It was John who had spoken, "Listen to me, my men are planning to attack your people."

"Oh no!" Mickey cried out as he, Riku and Pocahontas gasped in shock.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Riku asked.

"The only thing Pocahontas can do is warn them." Cloud informed, having heard from John earlier on what was going on, since his suspicions about Ratcliffe only grew stronger.

"Maybe it's not too late to stop this," Pocahontas said to John as she took his hand and tried to pull him to the direction of her village. "You have to come with me and talk to my father."

"Pocahontas," John began as he didn't move. "Talking isn't going to do any good. I already tried talking to my men, but everything about this land has them spooked."

"If anything, the other guys I can trust. It's Ratcliffe that's too suspicious. All he cares about is gold, and, honestly, I don't think he believes in ghost stories." Cloud stated.

"Kocoum didn't like us either." Riku stated, remembering how Kocoum had captured him and Mickey and was very suspicious despite Chief Powhatan realizing the truth about the two of them.

Suddenly, there was a loud, howling noise as Mickey, Riku and Cloud cautiously raised their weapons. And then, a short, shadowy creature appeared in the distance. Which made even confused because they couldn't sense darkness from it. It had white legs and the top of it looked like a small log...

"That's not a heartless." Riku stated.

"That's the strangest creature I've ever seen." Grandmother Willow added.

The thing clumsily fell to the ground, rolled down the hill, flew into a nearby tree and a dirty, white pug dog with a blue collar fell out of the log and landed into John's arms. The trio sighed in relief.

"Aw, it's only a dog." Mickey smiled a little.

"Percy," John chuckled as he recognized the dog. Unfortunately, Meeko, who had caused a bit of trouble with Percy for the last few days like stealing his food, smiled quickly before frowning in worry. Percy, instantly recognizing the 'rodent', growled and barked angrily before leaping out of John's arms and chased the racoon.

"Easy, Percy. Come here!" John called out.

"Meeko, come back!" Pocahontas called as she and John both tried to chase the two animals, with Meeko running for his life.

"See what I mean?" John sighed, "Once two sides want to fight; nothing can stop them."

"Come back here!" Mickey scolded as he began to help Pocahontas, adding to Percy. "Sit, boy! Sit!"

"Come-Come here, both of you!" Pocahontas scolded.

By then John was getting irritated with Percy himself and growled, "Bad! Bad dog! Sit!" while both Riku and Cloud sighed in exasperation, feeling a headache coming on.

Flit flew overhead, and amusingly watched the battle progress. However, Flit wasn't laughing long when Meeko grabbed Flit and was trying to use him like a sword against Percy. This got Percy even angrier as he was barking louder and continued to chase the racoon who retreated despite Mickey, Pocahontas and John trying to stop the fighting. Until finally Grandmother Willow spoke up.

"ALRIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH!" She yelled angrily, instantly causing everyone to silence and Percy, seeing the tree come to life, faint and nearly feel into the water head first had Mickey not catch him in his arms. She sighed, cooling down. "It's enough to make your sap boil."

"And give you a headache." Cloud grumbled in agreement.

Percy woke up and whimpered, shaking in shock at the talking tree. Mickey, his own anger vanishing almost instantly, gave the traumatized dog a comforting pat while Meeko moved closer to the dog as an act of comfort. Mickey put Percy down with another gentle pat before moving up to his friends.

"Now then." Grandmother Willow began more calmly. "There's something I want to show you. Look," She took one of her vines and dipped it into the water, causing small ripples to appear.

"The ripples." Pocahontas muttered in awe.

"What about them?" John asked.

"So small at first, then look how they grow. But someone has to start them." The wise tree explained, even though Riku, Cloud and John looked doubtful.

'_Someone has to start a fight...but Xehanort had started everything right from the beginning. He started this fight, and we had no choice but to fight. Master Eraqus couldn't get him to see reason why the Keyblade War is bad, and just wants to make it happen. Talking never did much at all. He's too cruel and stubborn._' Riku thought to himself, thinking of how Xehanort wants nothing more than the X-Blade and the end of the Realm of Light.

"They're not going to listen to us." John sighed.

"Well, we have to a least try. I don't want anybody to fight each other." Mickey stated.

'_Neither would Sora._" Riku thought, realizing where the King was coming from. '_If he was here, he would try and talk everyone out of fighting, and make them see that none of them are enemies and it was a misunderstanding._'

He just knew, had it been Sora, he would try and talk things through. Sometimes Sora was too nice for his own good, but at the same time, Riku admired his best friend's believes that there is good in everyone...even if it's not always the case.

"Mickey is right, young man. Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one." Grandmother Willow said to John. "Only when the fighting stops can you be together."

She used her vines to push John and Pocahontas gently together, and placed their hands together. John and Pocahontas looked at each other for a moment, until John spoke again.

"Alright, let's go talk to your father," He told Pocahontas who smiledsmiled, and then hugged him tightly. John smiled and then returned the hug. Riku, Mickey and even Cloud smiled before turning and hidden themselves while Grandmother Willow Grandmother Willow smiled warmly while she used her vines to hide them as well as Meeko, Flint and Percy. Flint protested and tried to stop the two, but Meeko held him back with a smile.

While having a moment alone, Pocahontas and John leaned forward and then shared their fist passionate kiss. But unknown to them and the others, Thomas was hiding in the bushes, his rifle ready to fire, but paused with a shocked look on his face, unable to believe what he was seeing. Not only was John with the native, but the woman herself was gentle and kind...and Thomas realized with disbelief that his friend and the Indian had fallen in love.

And also unaware of the group, Kocoum who had been told by Nakoma where Pocahontas was, saw what was happening and his heart was becoming fueled with rage and jealously.

But as Riku and the others waited, he, Mickey and Cloud sensed movement and darkness behind them and turned sharply just as an unwelcoming familiar figure emerged from the dark Corridor, smirking coldly.

"Ansem!" Riku grunted angrily, quickly summoning his Keyblade as did Mickey, while Cloud, not liking 'Ansem' already as the man reminded him too much of Sephiroth, brought out his sword. But before the trio could fight him while Meeko, Flint and Percy were terrified before running away, they heard an angry yell behind them and turned to see, to their, Pocahontas and John's shock, Kocoum run up towards them and began attacking John who tried to defend himself.

"It's Kocoum!" Mickey cried out, worriedly.

"As you can see, jealousy as brought darkness upon him, and all because of that woman's foolish belief and love. Her heart full of light...will soon be drawn into eternal darkness!" 'Ansem' declared coldly, summoning an orb of darkness and shot it out towards the trio who turned back to him too late, as it hit Riku, Mickey and Cloud all at once as they were unable to defend themselves. But rather being thrown back, they blacked out before falling to the ground...

* * *

Riku found himself floating in darkness once more, half conscious and drifting. Unlike the last time when the Demon Tide engulfed and nearly swallowed him whole like he was drowning, it was more gentle and strangely comfortingly, which scared him a lot.

Had his heart been devoured into darkness? Did 'Ansem' take control of him once more? What happened to Mickey and Cloud?

"_You have a habit of passing out in darkness, don't you?_" A familiar voice, the same one Riku heard earlier, asked. Alarmed and awake, Riku jolted upward and floated before finding himself strangely standing as though he was on the ground.

"You?" Riku called out, turning and looking around to find the owner of the voice. At first he couldn't find anyone, but finally when he felt a presence behind him, the teenager turned to face the person and saw...

His younger self, in the form when 'Ansem' had taken over his body. At first Riku thought he was dreaming, and that he was facing a dark side of himself, or maybe 'Ansem' in his body which didn't make sense. But the more Riku eyed his younger-self, the more the other Riku looked...no, felt familiar. It wasn't until memories of his time in Castle Oblivion came back to him that he finally understood.

"...You." Riku stared, more shocked than angry and afraid.

The other Riku scoffed. "_I told you before. I wasn't expecting to see you again. Didn't even expect to be inside your heart since the darkness almost took you over either._"

"What are you doing-" Riku cut himself off, before realizing the truth and muttered, understanding. "Oh. I get it. No wonder I felt something familiar inside me."

"_How long have you known I was with you?_" The other Riku, Riku-Replica, asked.

"Not long." The real Riku shook his head. "You did save me. I think you came along for a reason."

The replica chuckled softly at the irony. "_I didn't make myself much as a replica. I was a failure, and after you and Sora moved on, my body fell to ruin and the darkness took my broken mind. I was all ready to give up and let it happen, and then you showed up._"

"You took that as a sign?" Riku chuckled.

"_Hmph. Maybe._" The Replica shrugged. "_By the way, don't you have a job to do?_"

Before Riku could ask what the replica was talking about, his vision turned white as light shone all around them and Riku could hear another familiar voice echo, calling out his name, getting louder and louder...

* * *

"Riku!"

Snapping his eyes open and panting as though he'd been awakened from a nightmare, Riku felt disorientated at first, but as his vision cleared and his memories began to return, he found he was lying on his back facing upward, with Mickey, Cloud, Pocahontas, Meeko, Percy and Flint leaning over him with concern.

"You okay?" Cloud asked once he and the others felt relieved that the teenager was awake and helped Riku to sit up.

Riku nodded, finding himself sitting in front of the concerned Grandmother Willow and noticed that John was missing, and so was 'Ansem' and Kocoum. "What happened? Where are John and Kocoum?"

"After Ansem knocked us out, Kocoum tried to kill John and he...well, a fella named Thomas killed Kocoum, but John told him to leave and..." Mickey began, and so he and Pocahontas explained what happened. While Mickey, Riku and Cloud were unconscious, John was captured by Pocahontas' people who took him away and carried the dead body of Kocoum, and that Powhatan, furious over his daughter's disobedience and refusing to listen to her, have decided to kill John by sunrise before going into war with the settlers and Pocahontas had to tearfully say goodbye to John.

By the time she had returned, she found the trio unconscious and Riku was the last to wake up. The silver haired teen was shocked to hear this as were the others.

"They're going to kill him at sunrise." Pocahontas whispered in sorrow and guilt.

"You have to stop them." Grandmother Willow exclaimed.

"I can't." Pocahontas shook her head.

Cloud sighed, reluctantly agreeing. "They won't listen. Both sides want nothing more than to destroy each other."

"Well, we can't let that happen!" Mickey exclaimed.

"Pocahontas, you can't give up now." Riku added, even though all hopes in trying to stop the fighting was sinking faster than sinking into the darkness. He silently cursed at 'Ansem' for stopping him and his friends from stopping Thomas and Kocoum from causing violence in the first place and he was convinced that he wanted Pocahontas's heart to fall into darkness.

"He's right, child." Grandmother Willow agreed. "Remember your dream."

"I was wrong, Grandmother Willow!" Pocahontas cried, tears falling and her heart breaking. "I followed the wrong path. I feel so lost."

The hearts of Riku, Mickey and Cloud broke when they heard this. To think that Pocahontas had lost all hope and was drowning in despair and guilt and grief, believing that she went down the path of darkness unfortunately gave Riku and Cloud memories of their own poor choices and having went down the wrong paths themselves. For Mickey, it reminded him of his reckless choices in not saving Aqua, Ven and Terra sooner. But Riku soon thought back of what 'Ansem' mentioned earlier, and soon realized the truth of his enemy's words.

_"That may be. However, have you ever considered on how a heart full of light is consumed into pure darkness after years of wandering into darkness? Light fades back into shadow, as do hearts."_

As much as Riku hated to admit it, 'Ansem' was right. But...that didn't mean light can't return either. Aqua had proven that earlier by restraining herself from killing Mickey when he intended on sacrificing himself to save Riku. But...Xehanort led his own heard down the wrong path by choice and doesn't even regret that said choice. With Pocahontas...her heart led her to John who also had a good heart, and their hearts connected, because of the light within them.

"You didn't follow the wrong path." Riku told Pocahontas, while Meeko looked sadly at his long-time friend when the racoon suddenly remembered something and climbed up the tree, and Percy rubbed against the woman's legs. "It was fear, confusion and misunderstanding that has brought both your people and John's crew the path they're in. But you and John...your paths are the right ones."

He paused, and continued. "I once went down a path that had me against my friends, but it was Sora and Mickey who brought me back to the light. I tried too hard to be a role model and instead I choose to do what Sora always did; following my heart to help others. Like you."

Mickey smiled proudly at Riku, while Cloud felt as though the words were directed to him as well. Riku was right; Sora did always follow his heart to help others in need, even without fighting. Even though Cloud didn't do a good job in saving his own best friend, he at least protected Tifa when she tried to fight Sephiroth back in Radiant Garden, and had helped Sora to fight off the Heartless twice. When Meeko came back down, he was holding a small, round object against his chest, and then handed it to Pocahontas who took it from Meeko and looked at it.

"Huh? A compass?" Mickey blinked as he recognized the item, as Riku and Cloud gazed at, curious themselves. Pocahontas looked at the compass for a few minutes, and slowly turned it when her eyes widened in realization as she saw that the arrow was slowly spinning.

"...The spinning arrow." She murmured.

"It's the arrow from your dream." Grandmother Willow exclaimed.

"I was right!" Pocahontas said excitedly as her hopes were quickly renewed, and Mickey, Riku and Cloud smiled in relief.

"So it was the arrow from the Compass that was directing you to John! He's the right path you were destined to follow!" Mickey realized. Just then, the group looked towards the east and saw what would be the signal of their friend's death.

"Sunrise!" Pocahontas gasped.

"It's not too late. We can still save John and stop the fighting." Riku declared boldy as he stood up, feeling such determination which, he realized, reminded him of Sora. Mickey and Cloud both nodded while the arrow kept spinning, and spinning, until suddenly, it stopped. Pointing to the direction of the Natives.

"You know your path, child. Now follow it!" Grandmother Willow encouraged strongly. Pocahontas nodded, and without another word, she and the others quickly hurried to stop the fighting as fast as they could.

Unaware that Aqua was once again watching, and glared at the group, with Sephiroth not too far with a smirk on his face. Things were going quite well.

* * *

Riku, Mickey, Cloud and Pocahontas ran as fast as they could, taking out Heartless that attempted to stop them, and they could hear the drums of war of both sides. They ran through the trees and on a cliff above Ratcliffe and his men who stopped when they saw what was happening, John was forced down as Powhatan was waiting with a dangerous looking club that could kill anyone.

Fortunately, Riku, Mickey and Cloud leaped out of nowhere and while both Riku and Cloud leaped off and stood in front of Ratcliffe and the settlers, glaring at them with their eyes silently telling them not to shoot, Mickey stood in front of Powhatan with his arms spread out, with Pocahontas placing herself protectively over John.

"NO!" She shouted, and Powhatan froze as did everyone else, not having expected such unexpected arrivals from his daughter, or the two outsiders who were fighting the Heartless, or even another white man who attempted to stop the other white men. No one dared to move any further.

"If you kill him, you have to kill me too!" Pocahontas spoke strongly without hesitation.

"Daughter, stand back." Powhatan commanded.

"I won't!" The princess responded. "I love him, father."

"What?" Powhatan muttered in shock, and the only ones who were not shocked by these words were Pocahontas, John, Riku, Mickey and Cloud. Thomas's mouth was gapped open in equal shock while the other settlers were stunned that the native woman was in love with John and actually wanted to protect him or at least die with him, and with three friends who also understood.

"Chief, this is all a big misunderstanding. You gotta look around. Fighting isn't the right way to solve all this." Mickey spoke kindly and wisely, as a ruler to another ruler.

"This is where the path of hatred has brought us." Pocahontas added in agreement, wrapping her arms affectionately around John. "This is the path I choose, Father. What will yours be?"

Riku and Cloud both looked up at Powhatan with the same expressions as Mickey and Pocahontas held, while the chief gazed out at the scene before him, both his people and the settlers, weapons ready to fire at any moment and with an intense amount on hatred in their eyes. Finally he looked down at his daughter and the white man; she looked so protective and loving towards him. As the wind blew towards him, he raised his club in the air and spoke to his people, finally understanding.

"My daughter and these three people speak with the wisdom beyond their years; we have all come here with anger in our hearts! But they come with courage and understanding! From this day forward, if there is to be more killing, it will not start with me." He informed, much to the relief of Pocahontas and her friends, before he ordered John to be released.

The guard nodded and cut John's bonds with a sharp rock. As soon as he was free, John embraced Pocahontas in a tight, loving, embrace. Nakoma and the world-travellers looked on happily as weapons lowered. Mickey smiled in relief as did Riku and Cloud, while Thomas and the settlers lowered their weapons, also understanding the truth now.

Except for Ratcliffe who seemed even more intent on fighting and saw this as the chance for victory. He pulled out a sword and ordered his men, "Now's our chance! Fire!"

"No!" Thomas interjected, much to Ratcliffe's shock and confusion. "They let him go."

"They don't want to fight!" Ben added as he moved up to Thomas' side.

"It's a trick! Don't you see? FIRE!" Ratcliffe tried to reason and ordered again. But Thomas, Ben and Lon who moved up all just glared at him, refusing to move. Frustrated and impatiently, Ratcliffe snatched the gun from Thomas and growled, "Fine! I'll do it myself!"

"No!" Cloud shouted as he and Riku quickly raced up to stop him, but were forced to a stop when all of the sudden Aqua suddenly appeared out of nowhere and forced them back with the Way to Dawn Keyblade. Mickey looked back and gasped in shock, as did John who saw what was about to happen.

"NO!" John yelled, quickly pushing Powhatan out of the way and was shot in the stomach by Ratcliffe, much to everyone else's horror and Powhatan's shock when he saw that the white man his daughter was in love with just saved his life and was wounded himself.

"JOHN!" Thomas screamed in horror.

Pocahontas hurried over to the wounded John who winched in agony. Mickey was horrified, mentally screaming at himself for not reacting quickly to save both John and Powhatan. He was torn from helping Riku and Cloud and staying to help John before gazing at Powhatan who nodded, gesturing him to help his friends. Hesitating, he nodded and leaped down while Ratcliffe's eyes widened in disbelief at the betrayal of John.

"You shot him!" Thomas growled angrily at the Governer.

"He stepped right-right into it. It's his own fault." Ratcliffe tried to reason, but soon Ben, Lon and the rest of the settlers, angered by the man's trickery and greed and now realizing that John had been right all along, move in and captured the governor, while Thomas quickly snatched the gun from him. "Traitors! Unhand me, I say! How dare you!"

Mickey by then had rejoined his friends and cried out pleadingly to Aqua, "Aqua, don't do this!"

"**There's nothing you can do. It's been decided.**" Aqua said darkly, even though the light within the dark shell was screaming in agonized guilt, but she simply ignored it.

"It's not too late to save you! You have to fight the darkness!" Riku stated, only to gasp in shock along side Mickey and Cloud when another man teleported just slightly in front of Aqua, with a cruel smile on his face and only Cloud recognized him.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud hissed angrily, quickly standing in defense. Seeing the silver haired man that reminded both Riku and Mickey of all of Xehanort's incarnations, the two summoned their Keyblades and also stood in fighting stances.

"So, Cloud. We meet again." Sephiroth greeted evilly and coolly, and then gazed at the duo, his smirk growing. "And I see you have met a young man who is a lot like you, his heart begging for the darkness to return, and this one, similar to the companions of Sora, but with a heart and light, much like him."

"So you're Sephiroth." Riku growled, glaring at the man. "Sora told me about you; how you wanted to pull Cloud into the darkness and play puppet master. You remind me too much like someone who tried to do the same with me."

Sephiroth just chuckled evilly. "I see that you are quite clever to assume as such. And yet, it is you and Cloud who hunger for darkness, just the same as your friend whom you and your companion have betrayed."

"You're wrong! Aqua would never want the darkness, and neither do Riku or Cloud!" Mickey protested angrily. "We never betrayed anybody!"

"Can you be certain?" Sephiroth questioned, unfazed. "Those with light such as you always seek to eliminate the darkness, consumed by it's bright power that blinds you until you were sourched into nothing."

"Shut up!" Cloud shouted. "I'm sick of you talking about darkness, and trying to force me and anyone else into it!"

"Hmph." Sephiroth snorted. "Darkness is the true source of power. Look there; can you see that man's power consuming him? The way betrayal of light has shown this woman the truth? They are everything you and your friend with the Keyblade are always meant to be."

As Sephiroth gestured at the struggling Ratcliffe behind him and Aqua, the governer was suddenly coated in darkness that was overwhelmingly strong that it pushed his own men back as they landed with a thud, and as the darkness formed, it flowed behind him and created a rock-like Heartless that terrified both the settlers and the natives, and shocked and horrified Riku, Mickey and Cloud. Aqua stood there, continuing to glare at the group while Sephiroth's smirk became even colder.

From the trees, 'Ansem' was observing the whole thing and snorted. "Even though Sephiroth is a danger to our plans, he is doing us a favor in slowing those Guardians of Light." Before vanishing into darkness and teleporting out of this world.

Shocked, Cloud growled before charging towards Sephiroth despite Riku and Mickey's protests, and attempted to slice him in half, but Sephiroth brought up masamune and after a couple of clashes, easily blocked Cloud's larger sword, tiny sparks flying as they went.

"What did you do!?" Cloud demanded angrily.

"Don't worry. Pretty soon, you and your friends will fully surcumb and follow your true path." Sephiroth taunted.

Cloud struggled before the lock was broken and the two clashed a couple more times before Sephiroth knocked him back and sent him crashing into Riku and Mickey. The three of them skid on the ground before stopping, briefly spent as they glanced up again. Aqua just gazed at them before summoning a Corridor of Darkness and stepped into it.

"Aqua!" Mickey cried out, reaching out for her, but again he was too late as he could only watch his friend leave, most likely from this world this time.

"But first, you will need some help." Sephiroth finished, teleporting away himself.

"Sephiroth!" Riku shouted, but he was unable to stop him as he stood up. He, Cloud and Mickey who both felt guilt and shock that both Aqua and Sephiroth had gotten away and had stood up, turned their gaze to Ratcliffe who glared at them with the Heartless behind him.

"Pocahontas! You and everybody else get to safety! We'll handle Ratcliffe and the Heartless!" Riku called up to native woman who nodded, as she and her father both pulled John up and carried him to safety, as Thomas raced up to help. Both the Indians and the settlers, deciding to put aside their differences, did the same and hurried away and leaving the trio to handle the corrupted governer and the Heartless.

Ratcliffe glared before swinging his sword at Mickey who blocked it with his Keyblade and clashed against him while Riku shot out a Firaga at the governor's chest, sending the man back while he yelled out in pain. Cloud leaped up and spun his sword over his head as it glowed in blue light, and clashed and slashed at the Rock-Heartless's arms, causing it to roar in a mixture of agony and anger. The Heartless then dodged to the right and attempted to swipe at Cloud who leaped out of the way, but as it hit the ground with it's fist, it caused a tremor that hit him as well as Riku and Mickey who didn't see this coming.

Ratcliffe used this to his advantage and gave out a battle cry while slashing at Riku's arm, slicing a cut which began to bleed and the teenage young man hissed in pain before forcing himself to dodge-roll out of the way and then thrust himself into the evil man's chest, sending him back. Mickey quickly used Curaga while gulping down an elixir to regenerate his magic. Riku did the same a second later and Cloud swallowed a potion to heal himself.

Cloud then blocked Ratcliffe's attack as the two swords clashed while Mickey cast Wateraga on the Rock-Heartless and a huge magical flood engulfed the monster who became trapped. Riku chanted Thunderaga to weaken it further while quickly avoiding Ratcliffe's attack when the man shockingly sped towards him due to the darkness.

Riku counter attacked by clashing against him before leaping into the air and thrust his Keyblade at Ratcliffe, sending him flying once more and crashing into the Heartless's chest. Then the teenage wielder, Mickey and Cloud formed in a line and leaped into the air at the same time, using combined magic and attacks to thrust down their weapons at the Heartless's head, causing it to crash onto the ground along with the governor. The trio continued to fight both Ratcliffe and the Heartless until eventually the man couldn't fight anymore and as he landed onto his back with a thud, to his horror, the Heartless was falling straight towards him.

Ratcliffe gave out a horrified scream before being crushed by the Rock-Heartless who landed on top of him, limp and defeated. A heart emerged from it's chest before vanishing into oblivion as did the body. The governor had also disappeared.

Riku, Mickey and Cloud stood there, having won but not without prices.

* * *

An hour later, Riku, Mickey, Cloud, and both the natives and the settlers were all gathered at the fortress where the ship was being stocked up for a return trip to London. It was the only way to save John due to his injuries. Everyone was sad and upset that John had to leave, but they knew, if he stayed he would die.

Mickey though managed to heal some of the worst injuries with his healing Magic, but there was so much he could do and a gunshot wound was beyond even his standards.

"Sorry for not realizing Ratcliffe was a trickster, lad." Ben said to Cloud.

"Don't worry about it. I've met worse." The spiky haired man replied, accepting the apology.

Pocahontas knelt beside John, gently placing an item to his wound. "Here. It's from Grandmother Willow's bark. It'll help with the pain."

"What pain? I've had worse pain than this." John replied weakly, hissing slightly at the contact but tried to hide it. Mickey and Riku both held sorrowed looks. "Hey, don't you two have those looks. I'll be fine."

"If only we'd been quicker, then you and Pocahontas's father wouldn't have been in danger." Riku muttered in guilt.

"I'm sorry, John. It's all my fault." Mickey muttered, struggling the hold the urge to cry.

John shook his head, reassuring the two. "It's not your fault. Ratcliffe was never a good man anyway."

By then, Powhatan approached, and gently laid a blanket to keep John warm during his journey and saying to the man whom his daughter had fallen in love with, a white man who was just as kind as any man he had met. Had it not been for John and Pocahontas, the fight would have started. "You are always welcome among our people. Thank you, my brother."

He then stood up and gazed at Riku, Mickey and Cloud, adding, "You are welcome here as well, Riku, Mickey, Cloud."

"Thank you, sir." Riku replied, with Mickey and Cloud nodding in agreement as Meeko, Flint and Percy, who was staying now that his original owner Ratcliffe was gone and he became friends with the racoon, approached. Flint gently landed on John's finger and looked sad to see the man go, now fully trusting him.

The group smiled as Flint flew off, before John asked, requested to Pocahontas, "Come with me?"

Pocahontas hesitated, torn between staying with her people or leaving to be with the man she deeply loved. As though seeing the dilemma, Powhatan told his daughter warmly, "You must choose your own path."

Heeding her father's words which now matched with Grandmother Willow's, as much as Pocahontas wanted to leave, in her heart she knew, she couldn't leave her people. She could only hope that John would return one day so that they could be together, even as Riku, Mickey and Cloud gazed at her with concern and sorrow.

"I'm needed here." She finally told John with tears in her eyes.

"Then I'll stay here." John replied.

"No. You have to go back."

"I can't leave you."

"You never will. No matter what happens, I'll always be with you." Pocahontas reassured, repeating the words John told her earlier the night before. Realizing that she was right and that they would have to say goodbye, but always together within their hearts, John nodded. The two then touched lips in a deepening goodbye kiss which they wanted to last forever, but knew that it would have to end.

The hearts of Riku, Mickey and Cloud ached, as did of Powhatan. When the kiss ended, some of the settlers gently heaved John and carried him to the ship. Once most of the settlers were onboard, the sails were let down and slowly but surely, the ship began to sail away back to London of this world. Pocahontas, feeling the need to see the ship and John before they vanished too far and at Powhatan, Riku and Mickey's encouraged nods, began to race after it until she reached a cliff that over looked the ocean as the ship sailed away, the winds from her heart and the air flowing towards John. The two waved a goodbye.

* * *

"Take care, John. Hope you'll make a full recovery." Cloud spoke softly.

"Even a heart of light can hurt so much. It's never easy to say goodbye." Mickey said. "Or try and get them back to the light from the darkness."

"But that doesn't meant it can't be done." Riku spoke, realizing what happened to Aqua. "Sephiroth was using Aqua's corrupted form to trick her and fall deeper into the darkness...just as Ansem and Maleficent did to me."

"I guess Sora managed to get you back to the light." Cloud stated, and when Riku and Mickey gazed at him, he continued. "He's lucky to have friends like you guys, Donald and Goofy, and having the nature and skill in making many friends. I can tell he doesn't hold a grudge on anything for long."

Riku snickered despite the mood. "Yeah, Sora always manages to make people feel better, even though he's sometimes such a goof-ball."

"And his heart is so strong he can do anything, as long as he believes in all of us." Mickey added. "But that doesn't mean he doesn't need us to keep him safe. I don't care what Xehanort or Sephiroth are plannin' with Aqua, we're gonna save her, and I know that Sora will free her heart from the darkness."

"I'll handle Sephiroth. He has his way long enough and it's time I dealt with him. I realize now that the only way to do that is share that connection that I have with everyone that I met; all my friends that I made, and...a friend that I lost but never forgot." Cloud declared, more determined to follow his heart now than ever.

"Then the two us will continue looking for Aqua, and make sure she stays away from the darkness." Riku decided, gazing at Mickey and continued with full determination. "We're not giving up. Not by a long shot."

Mickey, realizing that Riku was still determined to save Aqua, shared that feeling and nodded. They may have been unable to bring her back now, but they weren't going to give up that easily. No matter how long it took, they were going to keep her within the light. So, after saying their goodbyes to their new friends of this world, Cloud went off on his own to continue his search for Sephiroth, while Riku and Mickey ventured off into a deserted part of the woods and teleported back to their gummiship and set off, all three of them leaving the world of Jamestown behind them and towards other worlds.

Even though their journey, as well as the journeys of Sora, Donald and Goofy, and even Kairi and Lea were only about to get harder and harder along the way.

* * *

**A/N: And so ends the story arc of Pocahontas, but don't worry, the Epilogue will have a happier ending for Pocahontas and John Smith, but I won't reveal that just yet as this story is way far from over. In the meantime, the next chapter will focus on Kairi and Lea's adventure in the first illusionary world within the Timeless world which again will be Disney and be sort of X(Chi), Unchained X/Union X-esque like.**

**See you later!**


	16. Chapter 15: Enchanted illusion

**A/N: Two chapters in two days! Okay so the last chapter was a bit rushed, sorry about that, but I've been wanting to start Kairi and Lea's adventure/training which is one of the reasons why I had a bit of a block with Riku and Mickey. Alas, we are finally here!**

**Also, some worlds that were in the previous games before KH3 will be where Kairi and Lea will go, but more like how the player characters visit worlds based on the future...only the illusion worlds will be based on the past. Sort of like other world-lines or alternate worlds, so to speak.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 15: Enchanted illusion.

_Back in the Timeless Realm...During Sora's visit in Kuzco Empire..._

Not long after leaving Merlin to begin their test, Kairi and Lea ventured off into the woods to find the entry point which would lead them to the first world within the Timeless Realm. Well, the first illusionary world that can easily be mistaken as the real thing, and would have to be protected like the real worlds in the Realm of Light. Despite that they were ready to take on the next step of their training, Kairi couldn't help but feel really nervous. She was suddenly worried that she could mess up, or not being able to fight despite all of the training she did with Lea.

She knew she can trust him and he'd been nothing but apologetic at first, and while a bit obnoxious, he was sweet and kind and friendly and sometimes even funny, and extremely loyal when it came to his friends. Lea missed them terribly, and while his actions as Axel to bring at least one of them back wasn't the right way, he'd do anything to protect them, even at the cost of his own life.

But Kairi suddenly found her own confidence fading ever so slightly, and she mentally shook her head at those thoughts. She can do this, because she wanted to protect her friends, and help them. Especially Sora.

"...Alright. If I were that entry point, where would I be?" Lea spoke up as he and Kairi both paused at the very bottom of the cliff where they'd usually hang out and watch the sunlight. He placed his hands on his hips and scanned the area of nothing but trees and grass. The sunlight shone from above, which made this part of the forest very comforting rather than creepy.

"Merlin said that it's here in the forest from the cliff above us..." Kairi remembered, before frowning in confusion and realization. "But he didn't say where exactly."

An awkward pause.

The taller redhead groaned almost dramatically. "You'd think he'd at least given us a more specific idea on where it is. Or at least a map, for cryin' out loud. Now we're gonna be wanderin' around for ages trying to find the magic door and we could easily end up lost for days!"

"Maybe we should call out to him and ask him where exactly we're supposed to find it?" Kairi suggested, mentally rolling her eyes over the tall man's melodramatics.

"Probably the only solution we have." Lea sighed in agreement. Though before he and Kairi could even call out Merlin's name, they both noticed something shine through within the trees ahead of them, down the path further into the woods. Rather than the yellow, orange and red colours from the sunlight above them, the light up ahead was white, and like the sun, it was warm.

Sharing a glance and after a brief wonder on whether to call out for Merlin about this or not, they decided to investigate and carefully ventured onto the path. It wasn't long before they discovered a beautiful lake which the sun's reflection glittered, and in front of it on the edge was a door on the ground, beautifully decorated and glowing in light with a keyhole in the middle.

"Could it be...?" Kairi murmured in awe.

"Well, if it is, then that just makes our job in finding it a lot easier." Lea shrugged, not sure himself, but it did look like an entry point.

"You're right. So now all we have to do is open it with our Keyblades." Kairi agreed, already knowing what has to be done. She summoned her Destiny's Embrace Keyblade, and then held it out. She'd seen how Sora, Riku and Mickey had done it, especially back in the World that Never Was before the final fight against Xemnas, so it was easy enough.

Lea, even though only having seen Riku do it once when the latter went back into Sora's dreams to free him from the nightmare Xehanort put him in, was a bit more uncertain but he copied Kairi's movement and summoned his Flame Liberator Keyblade, holding it out and while he held it in one hand, Kairi held hers in both hands. The two then shared a look and nodded, silently saying that they were both ready. They then pointed their Keyblades at the door and two beams of light shot out from the tips of the weapons and directly into the Keyhole.

The Keyhole glowed brighter as did the door before the former vanished, while the later opened up the two doors wide, revealing a Corridor of Light that formed in front of them for easy access.

"The entry point." Kairi whispered in awe.

"Whoa..." Lea murmured.

The two shared another look and nodded once more, and carefully they stepped into the light, cautious on what they would find and where they would end up...unaware that a speck of dark magic flew from the trees and into the portal just moments after the two new Keyblade Wielders entered, corrupting the portal before it vanished instantly.

* * *

The light had briefly blinded them for a little bit, but when Kairi and Lea both emerged from the portal, they had their hands shielding their eyes until the light faded and they lowered them. Their eyes widened at the sight before them and the area they were now in. It was a forest that was fresh and green with a waterside and small streams, birds singing in the trees.

"This is one of the worlds of illusion?" Lea asked aloud, gazing around.

"It's beautiful. It looks and feels so real." Kairi stated with a bright smile on her face, bending down low and gently caressed a flower. Indeed it felt real and it also had a lovely scent.

Her companion placed his hands on his hips and replied with a bit of a smile of his own. "Gotta admit, it sure looks pretty enough. Though the question is, what kind of world is this and who lives here?"

Before Kairi could answer as she stood up, she and Lea were quickly alarmed as Heartless suddenly appeared, some shadow, others soldier, and as such that the two recognized. The two of them quickly stood in defense glaring at the monsters even though Merlin did tell them that this was part of their training; these Heartless were not real, but they were real enough to cause damage and injuries.

"Certainly not the Heartless!" Kairi replied half-sarcastically as she and Lea both quickly summoned their Keyblades.

The two of them then charged as did the first horde of Heartless and Kairi whacked and slashed with ease, knocking back the first Heartless and jumped out of the way to avoid the other two that came to try and slash at her. The Princess of Heart then cast Fire at her first opponent which finished it off before turning and blocked another one of the two that attacked her and then knocked it away, causing the Heartless to crash into the other Heartless and landed onto the ground. She finished them both off with a Thunder Spell while careful with her magic.

Lea cut one of the flying Heartless in half with ease and then jumped back to avoid one of the soldier Heartless from attacking him from behind as he sensed it, before setting it up in flames when he aimed his Keyblade at it. He then turned to the annoying belly Heartless and dodge-rolled out of the way as he came barreling at him while attempting to force him back. He took out another two Heartless while he quickly went behind his target and focused on his fire abilities which caused his weapon to light up in glames as his Chakrams would before he tossed it expertly, the same way Sora would only with the flames part. The Keyblade hit the Heartless twice while set alight and while the red head caught his weapon, the Heartless was destroyed.

Kairi rolled out of the way in the dodge-roll she remembered Sora doing and how Lea taught her during their training which helped quite a lot, and narrowly avoided the shadow Heartless, but it managed to claw her in the leg which she cried out at the unexpected pain before destroying it and used Cure on herself to heal her thankfully not so deep wound. Lea was hit from behind by another flying Heartless and ducked before it could hit him again. He quickly then whacked it before it had the chance to attack again. The two of them continued on fighting until the last of the Heartless was dealt with, before jugging down a potion each as well as elixirs, careful on their supplies since they needed them for their journey.

"Phew...when Merlin said the illusions would feel real, he wasn't kidding." Lea sighed.

Kairi was about to respond when she noticed something within the trees and looked a bit more closely. To her confusion, there were flashes that blinked on and off; one pink, another blue.

"Huh? What's that?" She spoke aloud.

"What's what?" Lea asked, looking at the teenage girl before looking up and saw what she was seeing. "Huh? What's with the light show?"

"Strange. There's something familiar up ahead. Not because of those lights but...another one. I can tell it's an illusion but...it's still the same." Kairi said, thoughtfully. A light...while just an illusion or rather a memory of it, it was like her own light within her and...other lights she'd met and felt before.

"Hmmm...Now that ya' mention it, I'm gettin' a sense of deja vu with those lights. Maybe we should check it out. With the Heartless around, that means whoever's here is in trouble." The red haired man said with a concerned and thoughtful frown.

Kairi nodded in agreement, glad she wasn't the only one thinking about investigating, and that she didn't have to ask permission on whether going to find out was a good idea or not, even though she felt it was, but didn't want to rush in. Normally she would, especially when it came to her friends. But she knew that most of the times it was a reckless thing to do if you weren't careful.

But as the two of them headed into the direction of the lights, little did they know that a black raven also noticed the lights, and when he flew into the forest, the raven saw the two unfamiliar young people, a tall red haired man in a black coat, and a teenage girl with short darker red hair and a pink dress with black boots. None the less, the raven narrowed his eyes and decided to follow them.

Perhaps they will lead to what he is looking for.

* * *

Following the source of the light while trying not to get too lost, Kairi and Lea found that they flashes of pink and blue lights were gone, but they seem to be getting closer to the light the Princess of Heart felt earlier. Soon they came to a clearing and found a wooden cottage with a watermill and a small bridge. When they did, they noticed a young woman, about Kairi's age with golden blond hair, lips red as a rose, wearing a villager's dress with a cape around her head, and carrying a basket full of berries.

She seemed oblivious of the two, and seemed to be running towards the small house in excitement. It was the hair and face that had Kairi's eyes widen in realization. She knew instantly who that was.

"Princess Aurora?" Kairi gasped softly.

"Hold on...as in, another one of the Princesses of Heart like you?" Lea blinked in surprise. He has heard of Aurora before, as one of the seven princesses like Kairi, but he never met or seen the girl.

The red haired girl nodded with a smile. "Yes. I met her briefly in Hollow Bastion. This must be her home world."

"Uh, you do realize this is an illusion of it, right?" He pointed out, quickly pulling her back from running up and greeting her as he reminded his companion. "That means in this world, she has no idea who you are, and since this is based on a memory, this is before any of the stuff happened with her and you when Xehanort and Maleficent messed things up."

Realizing that Lea was right, Kairi chastised herself for forgetting that important detail. Even though everything felt real, the only ones that were real were herself and her friend. She felt silly for seeing a familiar face that wasn't real at all.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I've never been fully acquainted with her or even the other Princesses. I only saw them briefly after Sora saved me. But I have heard about them." She sheepishly replied.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Just try and memorize that next time." Lea chuckled. He could understand the girl's excitement. Back when he was a kid, he would've done the same thing. Heck, as far as that goes, he probably still would had it been his best friends. "But, since we're here, I guess we'd better make sure she doesn't end up caught by the Heartless or other bad guys, right?"

"Yeah." Kairi nodded in agreement.

But when they walked up to the house and were about to knock on the lower door as the upper door was open, Kairi and Lea paused when they saw that Aurora, nick-named Briar Rose by three shorter women whom Lea recognized as the three good fairies, who along with Merlin were helping him with his Keyblade training just before he rushed off to help Riku and King Mickey to save Sora from becoming Xehanort's final vessel, and the said faries who were disguised as peasants, were having a conversation.

Which Aurora didn't seem too happy about, and Flora, the red fairy, Fauna, the green fairy, and Merryweather, the blue fairy, were apologetic.

"Oh no! No! I can't believe it!" Aurora cried, before cried louder and ran upstairs in tears when she heard news that broke her heart, and her sorrow and heartbreak broke the hearts of the three Good faries, and even Kairi. Even Lea grew concerned, wondering what had happened.

"And we thought she'd be so happy." Merryweather sighed in sadness and guilt.

Kairi and Lea both shared a glance and despite that in this illusion world, they were outsiders and strangers, both didn't know what to do and whether or not they should be introduce themselves. At Kairi's pleading look and sadness in her eyes, Lea sighed and nodded, knowing that it was a losing battle against the sad look. He'd never hear the end of it if he said no.

Smiling softly, Kairi then gently knocked on the door, getting the attention of the three faries and they gasped, even as she greeted. "Um, excuse us?"

"Oh, my!" Flora gasped, while Fauna looked uncertain and Merryweather looked at the two unexpected visitors suspiciously, or rather, at Lea. "Who are you?"

"My name's Kairi." Kairi introduced herself kindly.

"Name's Lea. Some of my friends call me Axel. Got it memorized?" Lea added.

"Are you the one our dear Rose met earlier today?" Fauna asked Lea who blinked.

"Who, me?" The redhead replied, pointing at himself in confusion, and why did Fauna call Aurora 'Rose'? "I've been with Kairi for the whole time. Don't even know what's going on."

"We're terribly sorry for overhearing, but we're kind of lost and found ourselves here." Kairi apologized to the three faries.

"You don't seem bad, dears." Fauna relaxed a little. She gazed at Kairi and stated, "You have a pure heart, just like our Rose."

The teenage girl blushed a little at the compliment, wondering if she was that obvious when it came to her heart.

"And you have a good heart too, young man. With determination and courage." Flora added as she gazed at Lea who blushed a little, embarrassed by that compliment as he ended up clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Uh, well, um..." The redhead murmured uncomfortably, scratching the back of his head, not sure of how to response, eyes shifting back and forth before gazing at Kairi who tried hard not to laugh. "Little help here, please?"

"You really can't take a compliment, can you?" Kairi gently teased.

"Hey, now. I can't help it if people praise me or even thank me which makes me feel awkward. Sure I'm a nice guy, but...well, ya'know." He pointed out, referring to how the Organization rarely gave him actual compliments, and that he felt out of place for rechieving thanks from Roxas and Yen Sid and...the black haired girl who thanked him for helping her figure out how to remember using her Keyblade. Lea was certain, no, convinced that as Axel, he struggled to hold back the blush despite not having a heart back then too.

Kairi just giggled, smiling knowingly. Lea really was like both Sora and Riku; awkward around girls, and like Riku, felt awkward and embarrassed when it comes to being thanked by people or given good marks. She then turned back to the three fairies and asked kindly, "If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

Flora, Fauna and Merryweather shared uncertain glances, not sure whether they should tell these kind people the truth or not, but since they caught the tail end of what was happening, and were now convinced that Lea was not the mysterious man Aurora had met earlier, decided that it had to be done.

"Well, long ago, Maleficent cursed our dear Rose, who is actually Princess Aurora, the only daughter of King Stefan and the Queen. You see, the curse is that before sunset of her sixteenth birthday, Aurora would've pricked her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel, and die." Flora explained, and Kairi couldn't help but gasp as she covered her mouth with her hands in horror, and even Lea looked shocked.

"Fortunately, Merryweather used her gift to change the spell from death to deep sleep, and with a true love's kiss, the spell shall break and she would awaken. But even so, we couldn't bear to let that happen. In order to protect her, we took her here to hide her from the spell until sunset, which is tonight." Fauna continued, and Kairi and Lea both relaxed a little.

"So what's the problem?" Lea asked.

"Aurora is already betrothed since the day she was born, with Prince Phillip. We told her not to meet any strangers, but today she met a young man and..." Merryweather sighed.

"And she's fallen in love with this person." Kairi finished in realization, with sadness once again forming. The three fairies all nodded sadly.

Lea winched, catching on with the problem. "Ouch."

"It's her birthday today, and all we wanted was for her to be happy, with a birthday cake and a dress, so we sent her out for berries as a distraction before we would secretly take her back home without Maleficent even knowing. None of us have thought this would happen." Flora nodded.

"Poor Aurora..." Kairi sighed. While she didn't know whether the real Aurora had moved on or not as she still didn't know the full story other than being told that the Princess had her true love like Snow White, Jasmine, Belle and Cinderella did with theirs, it made her think on whether like Jasmine, Aurora did have the man of her dreams or had to move on and had fallen in love with Prince Phillip.

Either way, her heart ached as it somehow reminded her of each time she'd been taken away from her friends...how far apart she was from Sora. Even worse, Kairi also knew that despite that Lea's separation was different, being pulled away from his best friends was also heart breaking. Same with Aqua, Ventus and Terra. What's more, Maleficent came from this world as well, and she'd been evil to begin with, before Xehanort informed her of other worlds and went further into the path of darkness to try and take over all the worlds.

"Isn't there anything we can do to help?" She then asked, to which Lea blinked in surprise before realizing what she meant and nodded, even though he knew that there wasn't much either of them can do.

"Thank you, my dear. But I'm afraid it's not possible. Perhaps it's best you and Lea leave." Flora apologetically replied.

Kairi lowered her head in disappointment, but knew that the red fairy was right. Still, she felt terrible about all of this. Lea gently placed a hand onto her shoulder with a sympathic but knowing look on his face. Just as the Princess of Heart looked up at him, all five of them heard footsteps and saw a sad Aurora, dressed in her Princess dress given to her by the fairies and covered in a long coat with a hood over her head with a resigned expression, her eyes closed briefly. Everyone gazed at her, while the three faries used their magic to discard their own disguises and into long dresses with pointy hats and small wings on their backs returning.

The two Keyblade wielders moved aside to allow the four of them to walk past. The three fairies stood in line with Aurora behind them and nodded their farewells to Kairi and Lea who watched them leave out of the cottage and down the path towards where they assumed was the Kingdom...only to hear shocked and alarmed screams which made both of them gasp in shock.

Hurrying outside and racing to where Aurora, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather were, Kairi and Lea's eyes widened as a group of Heartless appear and blocked their path, slowly preparing to attack the four women.

"Look out! They're Heartless!" Kairi cried out as she and Lea both quickly stood in front of them while facing the Heartless and summoned their Keyblades.

"We got this! Go and hide 'til the path's clear." Lea instructed the four of them. The fairies nodded and led Aurora to the safety of the trees while he and Kairi glared at the monsters. Kairi blocked a Heartless before knocking it back and chanted her Flower Shoot spell at it along with five other Heartless who were consumed by the power of her light. Lea swiped two Heartless side-ways before firing a Fire-Ball at five more Heartless while careful to not set the bushes or the trees on fire as well.

The two made quick work at the Heartless with combinations of magic and fighting skills they learned since arriving in the Timeless Realm before they found that the coast was clear. Thankfully there hadn't been any difficult Heartless and there hadn't been that many either, so both Kairi and Lea somehow managed to avoid even minor injuries this time. By the time they were done checking and dismissed their Keyblades, Flora, Fauna, Merryweather and Aurora approached them once more, though the faries were more grateful than Aurora was.

"Thank you, dears. That was very brave of the two of you." Fauna said.

"You're welcome." Kairi replied, and Lea gave the four of them a thumbs up.

"You two are very brave and kind. If it's not too much trouble, would you accompany us to the castle? I'm afraid we can only do so much with those awful monsters." Flora requested.

"Of course we would. Right, Axel?" Kairi replied.

"Sure, no problem. Those things are very dangerous anyway." Lea shrugged.

The faries nodded in gratitude and relief, while Aurora nodded in sadness and even though she was grateful for the two people for saving her and the faries, her mind was still solely onto the man she met and had fallen in love with only to never see him again, and to marry a prince whom she wasn't in love with. Kairi saw her sad expression and could only gaze at her with sympathy and worry. But the only thing she can do was to protect the illusion version of the fellow Princess of Heart until she reached the Kingdom.

Without anything else to say, the seven of six of them continued on into the forest with the three good fairies taking the lead towards the Kingdom, and Kairi and Lea both making sure that the Heartless wouldn't hurt anyone. But none of them realized that the raven, Diablo, had overheard everything and smirked evilly before flying away...

To report to Maleficent.

* * *

Meanwhile, just outside of Radiant Garden back in the Realm of Light, Saix stood on the road of the outer gardens as he was speaking to a short, old ragged and ugly woman with short, messy purple hair, green eyes, a purple shirt with matching shoes and a crimson skirt.

Otherwise known as Madam Mim, Merlin's arch enemy of black magic.

"...I trust you tempered with the portal?" Saix was questioning to Madam Mim.

"Indeed, I have, young man." Madam Mim snickered. "Those two dears will never know what is hitting them until the end of their so called 'test' Merlin has set up. Hmph, that old goat. Always seeing the good in others."

"Good. Now for the key to enter the Realm of No Time." The blue haired man nodded, emotionless as always due to being one of the chosen of Xehanort.

"Now, now, now, patience is a virtue, my pet." Mim waved dismissively, before waving her hand as she magically created a dark and light key which dropped into Saix's hand. "When you use your magic to open those Corridors of Darkness, this will allow you access to where your fellow member and that girl with a heart of light far too bright for my taste anytime you like."

Saix nodded his understanding. "I thank you for that, Madam. If you will excuse me."

But Mim held out a hand and quickly interjected, "Now you hold on there, boy. You tell me that your red haired friend betrayed you for that girl and the other boys including that King Mickey, but you're not telling me what you intend to do with both of them. If you want them to be destroyed, I can help you with that."

"There is no need. While their purpose is to fall into darkness, they are needed for one goal." Saix informed her, holding back his impatience as he knew that if the Organization caught him now, he was in serious trouble. There were other things he needed to do, but he had to make sure things went the way he wants without Xehanort realizing what is happening.

"For what?" Mim asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Hmph. None of your concern." The blue haired man scoffed, as darkness surrounded him as he teleported away for the next phase of his mission, leaving Madam Mim standing on her own.

A moment of silence.

"Hmph! Well, whoever that young man is working for evil-which I like-he's making me look like a good person." Mim scoffed, then cringed in disgust. "Eugh! I can't stand the power of goodness and light!"

After waving her arms about in a major tantrum, Mim calmed down before shaking her head and shrugging. "Oh well. At least the one that bluehead is with uses the power of darkness to cause problems, which in my book is good."

She then teleported herself away while being covered in black cloud of dust and black magic, already forming another plan of her own to cause even more heaps of trouble...against Saix's wishes.

* * *

Back in the Timeless Realm in the illusion of Enchanted Dominion, Kairi, Lea, Flora, Fauna, Merryweather and Aurora continued to travel through the woods as the two Keyblade wielders were taking care of the Heartless while protecting the others until they reached a small clearing, and just behind the palace itself of the Kingdom.

Flora then placed a finger to her lips to shush the group and gestured them to follow. They nodded, and made to continue on. But as both Kairi and Lea were about to follow, all of the sudden as soon as they took another step, suddenly everything and everyone around them froze and stood still, making the two of them freeze in their tracks and look around in shock.

"What-what's goin' on!?" Lea asked, alarmed as he and Kairi continued to look around before everything around them vanished in darkness, before it was replaced by a static image of the Kingdom, and while the scenery was clear, they were now standing on a bridge in front of the tall Castle itself.

"How did we...what's happening?" Kairi asked, worriedly. She then shrieked in fright while Lea jumped as they heard a loud clang and swipe behind them. The two spun and saw an unfamiliar man, maybe a bit younger than Lea, with clothes that were similar to Ven's as the redhead realized, with brown hair and blue eyes and a Keyblade.

Yet the hair and face instantly reminded both Kairi and Lea of someone they didn't want to remember just yet.

"Xemnas!" Lea gasped, but then became confused as he muttered. "Hey, hold on..."

"It's not Xemnas. He's...really different in the eyes." Kairi realized, and the taller man nodded in agreement.

The man, Terra, didn't seem to notice them and instead gazed up at the Castle before him. Kairi and Lea shared a confused glance before the latter carefully moved up and waved at Terra's face, but there was no reaction. The shock only grew when Terra walked past and literally through Lea's hand while becoming see-through for that split second.

"WHOA!" Lea cried out, alarmed while Kairi gasped, the two of them back up as they watched Terra walk a couple of steps...and stopped when they all saw a familiar black horned figure with the long cape standing there...one that Kairi knew all too well.

Maleficent.

"_What's this? Why aren't you asleep, boy?_" Maleficent turned and questioned, gazing at the trio and while both Kairi and Lea stood in fighting stances, glaring at the evil fairy, Terra just stood there as she continued to adress him. "_That fool Flora cast a spell to put everyone in this castle into a deep, deep slumber._"

"_Who are you?_" Terra asked, a bit suspiciously. His tone and personality, however, reminded Kairi very much of Riku.

"_Why, I am Maleficent...as all who dwell in this kingdom would know._" Maleficent answered, taking a couple steps closer to the group as Kairi and Lea tensed. Yet like Terra, Maleficent didn't seem to notice them."_Now you must reciprocate the introduction. Who are you?_"

"_I'm Terra._" Terra replied, causing Kairi and Lea to gasp in shock as they glanced at him in disbelief. This was Terra? One of the Keyblade Wielders that they, Sora, Riku, Donald, Goofy, King Mickey and Yen Sid were looking for? What was going on?

Still not acknowleding them, Terra continued, "_What do you know about those monsters-the ones who attacked me?_"

"I can't believe it...this is Terra?" Kairi whispered in shock.

"Since he looks kinda like Xemnas, only without the silver hair and creepy yellow eyes, I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that Xehanort took over Terra's body..." Lea stated, before gasping in shock and realization. "Which means the Xehanort _I_ remember was in Terra's body when he turned me and Isa and almost everyone else into Nobodies!"

Maleficent, not seeing the two other Keyblade wielders, walked up to the side of the bridge which made Kairi and Lea back up, while the witch continued to Terra calmly. "_Hmph. Now why would I give a thought to creatures so base... so inconsequential._"

"_They are base, that's for sure._" Terra gave a small laugh in agreement. "_Anyway, I'm looking for someone. Ever heard of a man named Xehanort?_"

"Uh oh...that's not good." Lea muttered worriedly. He could already tell how this will or rather, this actually turned out. Remembering how Maleficent and Xehanort's Heartless tricked Riku into their bidding, the redhead already knew that this was the path of the horrible fate that Terra ended up.

"_That name is not familiar to me. Is he an outsider, like yourself?_" Maleficent responded to Terra's question, placing hand onto the orb of her staff, smiling coldly after a moment of pause which made Kairi's glare at the evil woman harder. "_Oh, but wait... I do remember someone leaving the castle._"

"Liar." Kairi muttered angrily at Maleficent and Lea agreed.

"_Tell me-what was he doing there?_" Terra asked after Maleficent once again turned to face him.

"_I couldn't say... I can only be certain he was not from this kingdom. If you're curious, go see the castle for yourself._" Maleficent replied, motioning him towards the castle. "_There-the entrance is past the bridge._"

"_Thanks._" Terra nodded, and began to run up towards the castle...just as everything around Kairi and Lea wavered again, and just as they had to shield their eyes from the blinding light...

They suddenly found themselves back with Flora, Fauna, Merryweather and Aurora and time returned around the two of them. Blinking in confusion as the four of them began to walk ahead of them. Kairi and Lea both wondered in confusion and a bit of fear for a moment before sharing a glance and quickly hurried to catch up to them, now concerned as their minds raced to what they saw...and suddenly found to their horror that they knew what was coming up next.

Despite this, they didn't say anything to avoid in sounding like they lost their minds, even if they were only in the illusion and memory of the real Enchainted Dominion within the Timeless Realm.

"Axel, what just happened back there?" Kairi whispered, worriedly while making sure the three good faries and Aurora didn't hear her.

"I dunno." Lea whispered back just as softly. "I don't think this is what Merlin had in mind for the test, or even the illusionary worlds based on memories."

"But...that means what we saw...was it the memory of the world? From twelve years ago?" Kairi asked.

"Your guess is good as mine, and I can't think of another case scenario that makes sense. What I don't get is how or why it happened." Lea replied with a one-shoulder shrug, before he came to a horrified guess which he wished he was wrong. "...Unless you-know-who managed to hijack our test the same way he and the other guys did with Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery exam."

Kairi glanced down as she and the others climbed up the stairs in the back of the palace, unnoticed by anyone. Lea was right. If this is the result of Xehanort somehow knowing where they were, then he could possibly try and kidnap her and either kill Lea or...force him to return to the Organization as a vessel. Kairi rubbed her arms, shuddering at the terrible thoughts. If Xehanort was doing this, then he was doing this before Kairi and Lea can even complete their training, to catch them off guard and lower the numbers of the Guardians of Light.

Unless the evil old man wasn't going to wait any longer and was now already seeking a way to recapture all of the Seven Princesses of Heart including herself to form the X-Blade. Was that what the warning she'd seen earlier was trying to tell her? The Timeless Realm itself showing her signs of the dangers that she was in along with the other Princesses and Sora...and other lights she didn't know about?

'_Maybe those other seven lights are not people..._' Kairi thought to herself, hugging herself slightly and shivered as though she was feeling cold. '_Maybe they're...the seven pieces to the Key to Return Hearts._'

All those thoughts terrified her.

"And if that were the case," Lea's voice charred Kairi back to reality, as the latter looked up to him, seeing his expression of reassurence and confidence. "He'll have me to worry 'bout, and there's no way I'm gonna let ya' get kidnapped again, but you need to try and not freeze up in fear and also stop yourself from being kidnapped. Got it memorized?"

She wasn't sure why, but the way how Lea was saying this was actually making Kairi feel better. Her former kidnapper was right, though; if she wanted to go out and help her friends, she needed to toughen herself even more and if she wanted to avoid in being kidnapped again, she had to stop herself from doing so just in case there would be no one to save her in time. So she smiled a little and nodded.

"Sure, Axel." She replied.

The two of them fell into silence as the fairies lead them and Aurora into a large bed chamber through the large doors after making sure all six of them were alone. The room itself had a white bed with blue curtains, an ornate cerulean blanket, a balcony with drapes that over looked the kingdom, a large fireplace just a bit higher than Lea, and a dresser with a mirror. Once all of them were inside, Merryweather locked the door while Fauna closed the drapes that blocked out the balcony.

Kairi and Lea just stood near the door and watched the fairies gently guide Aurora, wearing her blue dress, to the chair in front of the dresser.

"Now, dear. This one last gift, dear child for thee, the symbol of thy royalty." Flora whispered comfortingly as she, Fauna and Merryweather waved their wands together, and a golden Tiara appeared. Flora gently placed on top of Aurora's head to fully complete her look as the true Princess.

Kairi gazed in awe. This was the Aurora she remembered, and just as beautiful as she remembered as well. But her amazement turned to concern and sympathy as Aurora, not caring about her beauty, just buried her face into her arms on the dresser and broke down into tears once more.

"Aurora." Kairi muttered, about to reach over to try and comfort her, but Lea held her back as he again placed a hand onto her shoulder.

"Wait. She needs some time alone. All of us around would only make things worse for the poor girl." He uncharacteristically informed wisely.

"He's right. Come." Flora nodded in agreement, gesturing her fellow fairies out of the room. Kairi and Lea followed, both of them hoping that Maleficent wouldn't catch wind of this. They didn't go far, and instead waited just outside of the room.

"It's that boy she met." Merryweather sighed, knowing that the Princess can only think about the young man.

"What ever are we going to do?" Fauna asked hopelessly.

"What can we do?" Kairi agreed, just as hopelessly as she slumped slightly against the wall. "I know how betrothes work, but...I don't want Aurora to be like this; heartbroken and forced to be with someone she wasn't want to. Seeing her like this...it breaks my heart too."

Lea sighed, leaning against the wall while clasping his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. "I'm no expert when it comes to romance and marriages, so I'm just as cluless as you ladies right about now. But given a choice...there isn't much of a choice. Not by us or Aurora anyway."

Everyone else sighed, knowing that Lea was right. But while they were talking and waiting for Aurora to calm down...what they didn't realize was that leaving Aurora alone was a big mistake.

Because Maleficent was already aware...and was in the room at this moment.

* * *

**A/N: I'm kinda certain that this first illusionary world will be at least two chapters long, and sorry for the lack of fights and such. I couldn't think if Disney worlds that Kairi and Lea should visit that were new, so I decided to have them visit some that are based on memories and three that are somewhat new but are also illusions while Sora, Donald and Goofy would be visiting two familiar worlds as well as new ones, as do both Riku and Mickey.**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	17. Chapter 16: (Title too long again)

**A/N: Managed to post another chapter with time that I had! We're moving along rather nicely.**

**To the guest review about the worlds Sora, Donald and Goofy will visit: Yes, Aladdin and the King of Thieves story arc will be in this story, which was actually what I'd been hoping to see in the actual game and was disappointed that Agrabah was left out. However, Treasure Planet won't unfortunately, since I wasn't fond of that movie. Sorry about that.**

**Welp, let's continue on!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 16: Difference of illusion and Reality.

As Aurora continued to cry, oblivious to everything else mainly due to the heartbreak she was enduring as of this moment, what she didn't even realize was that this was putting her life and future at ultimate risk. The fireplace that was already lit up suddenly went out, leaving behind smoke...that formed into that of a silhouette of Maleficent, glowing in green before becoming a magical orb, spreading towards Aurora who stops crying...

With a hypnotized gaze and her eyes glowing green. Under control, she slowly stood up, her cloak falling to the floor and slowly makes her way towards the fireplace which the wall of it disappears, revealing a secret passage, following the green orb.

* * *

"Maybe we should tell King Stefan about the boy." Fauna suggested.

"Well, why don't we?" Merryweather agreed.

Kairi sighed, only to suddenly feel her heart jerk and she gasped softly. Her vision quickly becoming blurred and she heard a faint unusual sound, and sensed the familiar horrible presence of darkness. As soon as it happened, it faded, but it was enough to alarm her. She instantly turned to the door and faced the doors.

"Kairi?" Lea asked, noticing the teenage girl's movements and as soon as he stood up from the wall, he suddenly felt a dark presence.

"That sound...!" Kairi murmured, already pushing the door open with Flora, also hearing the sound, closely behind.

"Maleficent!" The red fairy gasped, which made Fauna and Merryweather quickly alarmed while Lea's eyes widened in shock. The three of them followed Flora and Kairi inside and they all gasped in horror when they saw Aurora following the inside the tunnel.

"Aurora, wait!" Kairi cried out, running up to the fireplace, followed by Lea and the three fairies. But they were forced to a stop when the wall reappeared, blocking them from entering. "We have to get through!"

"Here." Flora nodded, using her magic to make the wall disappear again. She, Fauna, Merryweather, Kairi and Lea all quickly raced in, though the red haired young man had to duck a little to avoid hitting his head. The five of them all cried out to Aurora and looked around in the series of tunnels and staircases.

Kairi then felt the light of Aurora and, thinking desperately, placed a hand to her heart and closed her eyes, hoping to at least sense the Princess. When she did, her gaze went to the staircase and nodded. Gesturing the others to follow her, Kairi ran up as fast as she could, with Lea and the fairies close behind. But as they did, Heartless appeared which forced Kairi and Lea to summon their Keyblades.

"Go away!" Kairi yelled at the Heartless, unexpectedly slashing two that blocked her path instantly and ignored the other Heartless, running past them and continued up the stairs. Lea disposed the other three Heartless as quickly as possible before running again with the fairies still calling out to Aurora.

Running as fast as they could while taking out the Heartless that continued to slow them down, Kairi somehow managed to get ahead of the group despite Lea calling out to her, but he was soon blocked when another Heartless appeared and quickly separated him, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather from Kairi who noticed and gasped.

"Axel!"

"Just go and stop Aurora! GO!" Lea called out.

Hesitating and not wanting to leave her friends behind, Kairi reluctantly nodded and continued running up the last case of stairs, seeing a green glow from a doorway above her. She willed herself to run faster despite running out of breath, and eventually reached the room of the highest tower, just in time to see a black spinning wheel with the spindal, glowing in green and Aurora reaching out her left hand to touch it.

"Aurora, don't touch that!" Kairi cried out from the door way, quickly running up to hold the Princess back. Aurora, hearing her voice, held her hand back. But as Kairi was about to reach out, she was forced to stop when a familiar figure, or rather the illusion of the figure, appeared in green flames and Kairi had to step back a bit.

Maleficent who waved a hand out with an evil grin, and Aurora, again controlled, reached out to the spindal.

"Aurora, No!" Kairi screamed out, but it was too late. Aurora touched the spindal with her finger, and the room suddenly went green. The red haired girl had to hold up a hand to shield her eyes while wincing before the green flash faded, and she gasped in horror when Aurora, the curse fulfilled, lost consciousness and simply fell to the floor, almost lifeless.

Horror, sorrow, guilt and anger slowly formed in Kairi's chest, tears beginning to form in her eyes at the sight of Aurora now in a deep sleep, before she turned angrily to Maleficent and hissed. "Maleficent!"

"Hmm...so you know my name, and yet I have never seen you before. Then again, I do not waste time knowing anyone, even outsiders such as you." Maleficent spoke calmly, undaunted by the teenager's glare.

While she mentally smacked herself on the head for forgetting that this wasn't the real Maleficent, Kairi was still angry with her none the less. "Why did you do this!?"

"That is none of your concern, child. The Princess deserved what she was given the day she was born, as do all of this kingdom." The evil fairy sneered evilly, before she took a closer look at Kairi who held her Keyblade tightly in her grip, ready to fight despite that Maleficent was still too strong for her given the training. She smiled cruelly as she continued, "Hm? What's this? A girl with a heart pure and bright, soft red hair, blue eyes as calm and flowing as the water, a face full of beauty with fair skin glowing under the sunlight. You are also a pure one, much like Aurora. Especially with a sword unlike any other."

Kairi tensed, a quick flash of fear in her eyes before she struggled to hold it back, saying back. "I'm not afraid you!"

"I sense that you are, child. Allow me to put you under a spell...and destroy the happiness of all you hold dear, the light of their bright futures, cast aside to bring forth the darkness of misery and anger." Maleficent declared.

"NO!" Kairi yelled, just as Lea who had managed to defeat the Heartless, and the fairies ran up to the doorway and when they saw both Maleficent and the unconscious Aurora, they gasped in shock and horror. Lea then glared up at Maleficent and quickly stood beside his friend and also took a fighting stance.

Maleficent turned to the fairies and sneered darkly, "You poor, simple fools. Thinking you could defeat me, me, the mistress of all evil. Well here is your precious princess." She moved aside to reveal Aurora, causing Flora, Fauna and Merryweather to become even more horrified as the spell had been complete.

"Okay, even though we just met, I seriously don't like you already." Lea growled at Maleficent angrily.

This made Maleficent frown as she turned to him. "Another fool from the outside, also with a sword very unusual. But he seems to have quite potential. Tell me, boy; why do you side with a girl with a heart full of light, when your own belongs to the darkness?"

"Well, lemme take a second. How about, 'Because she's one of my friends'?" Lea replied sarcastically.

"You do not deserve friends. They are such a waste. Join me, and take the life of this girl, and become my minion to rule all of the kingdom!" Maleficent offered.

"Yeah, no thanks. Why would I work for a creepy old hag like you? Especially since you put a poor girl to sleep. What makes you think I'd go and hurt other people?" Lea snorted, unamused.

Maleficent was greatly angered by his comment, her staff glowing green as she powered up her staff, bellowing. "You dare to speak to me like that, fool!? Then I will do the pleasure of making you watch and see this girl face her doom!"

She fired a blast of green fire towards Kairi who gasped, frozen for a split second and was unable to think of moving. She could only watch in horror as the flames was about to hit her, much to Lea's horror.

"Kairi, look out!" Lea cried out, pushing his friend aside and attempted to block the flames with his Keyblade, but while he managed to stop himself from being set up in green flames despite fire being his specialty, Maleficent shot out a blast of a dark Thunder which sent him flying backwards and into the wall behind him. The redhead yelled out in pain upon impact and slumped to the floor, energy spent while his Keyblade dismissed itself.

"Axel!" Kairi screamed in dismay while the three good fairies gasped as they tried to reach Aurora, but couldn't.

"Never you worry about him, child." Maleficent sneered evilly, waving her hand over the orb of her staff. "You may wake up sooner than Aurora, but I believe sleep and dark dreams will satisfy you, driving out the light in your heart."

Kairi turned back and made the mistake of looking at the evil witch before becoming covered in a green aura. Realizing what Maleficent was doing, she tried to fight it, and moaned. But despite her best efforts, Kairi was becoming too sleepy as the power of sleep over took her. She soon was unconscious, standing for a moment before her Keyblade dismissed itself and she fell to the floor, lying on her side.

"KAIRI!" Lea screamed out in horror, weakly reaching out as he saw what happened.

"Stop it, Maleficent!" Merryweather shouted, attempting to charge at the witch, but Flora held her back by the dress, stopping her from doing something as foolish as charging.

Lea grunted, ignoring the pains in his back and front and ran up to his sleeping friend, bending and gently cradling her in his arms, guilt quickly forming in his heart. He couldn't believe this had happened; He failed to stop Maleficent from putting Kairi into sleep. How could this had happened? But as he stared at her unconscious form, he felt the familiar painful jolt in his mind that made him wince, and for a brief moment, he saw another memory right before his eyes.

* * *

_The black haired girl in his arms, also unconscious. Axel is carrying her through the Twilight's View of the Castle that Never Was, with a very worried Roxas beside him. As they walked towards the girl's room, Saix approached and gazed at he unconscious form of the girl._

_"Well, that didn't take long. Did it break again?" Saix questioned emotionlessly._

_"She's not an "it"!" Roxas grunted angrily._

_Axel wasn't happy with Saix's comment either, and as he walked past the blue-haired man, he whispered angrily. "Keep your mouth shut." He walked off with Roxas close behind._

_In another memory, Axel had laid the girl onto her bed while he and Roxas stood beside it, gazing at her with worried expressions, though Axel was certain the young blonde-haired Nobody was just as worried which was unusual. What was even more unsual was that...Axel could feel the same emotion as his friend, and while he didn't understand why, he decided that he didn't care about that right now._

_"Are you worried about her, Axel?" Roxas asked._

_"Of course I am." The redhead replied._

_"It just doesn't seem like you." The younger Nobody pointed out._

_"What do you mean?" Axel looked at him, confused._

_Roxas shrugged, "I mean, you don't like things to be complicated."_

_Realizing what he meant, Axel thought about it and while he didn't like to lie to the kids, he came to another realization, one that he shouldn't be possible...but he really liked it. So much so that he didn't want things to end with him or the other two Nobodies. In a weird way, he can laugh, and feel human emotions, as though he had a heart. Everything he felt when he was a human, back when he was just a kid himself._

_"You know, Roxas... Each day the three of us meet up there for ice cream. Now, why do you think that is?" Axel replied._

_"I don't know..." Roxas replied, oblivious with the answer._

_"You want me to tell you why?" Axel asked, and when Roxas nodded, he smiled. "It's because you guys are my best friends."_

_"We are?" Roxas asked, surprised._

_Axel chuckled, "Get it memorized, man. We are best friends."_

_"Oh...yeah, I guess we are." Roxas smiled, now understanding what the older Nobody was saying, only for both of them to hear the black-haired girl start giggling, which surprised them as they turned and saw, to their relief that she was awake._

_"Thanks, Axel. You're sweet." She told him, smiling warmly._

_That compliment made Axel feel warm in the face and he was pretty sure he was blushing, because he looked away while scratching the back of his head and chuckled, embarrassed while Roxas chuckled as well..._

* * *

The memories soon ended, and Lea let out a soft shuddered breath, gazing at Kairi while feeling even more guilty. While he had no idea what happened that day, or way Saix called the black haired girl an 'it', but somehow he knew...the answer to the girl's fate was getting more clear and his heart wrenched. Both at the loss of his friend, and the situation Kairi was in, tears beginning to form in his eyes as he struggled to hold back the urge to cry again.

"Oh, come now, Axel." Maleficent mocked, smiling evilly as she enjoyed the devastated looks of Lea, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather. "There is no need to be sad. A simple little girl is nothing to you, surely."

Lea glared up angrily at Maleficent, struggling to hold back his sorrow and anger, but he did growl at her. "You'll pay for this."

Maleficent simply scoffed, "Well, do enjoy your misery, all of you. In the end, I have won!" before she soon disappeared into flames, leaving behind her manical laughter which echoed for a moment before it faded.

While Lea could only glare at the empty spot where Maleficent had been, his anger slowly melted into sorrow and guilt, first seeing the three good fairies finally able to run up to the deep sleeping Aurora, kneeling beside her and beginning to cry in guilt and devastation, muttering about blaming themselves for having left Aurora on her own, then lowering his head as he gazed at Kairi's sleeping form, knowing that he'd been the one to suggest of leaving Aurora alone, when he should've known better. If he hadn't suggested that, Aurora and Kairi would've both been safe and awake, avoiding Maleficent's spell all together.

'_This is all my fault._' Lea thought miserbly to himself.

* * *

_Standing alone in darkness, Kairi had no idea where she was or how she got here. The last thing she remembered was falling under Maleficent's spell, and she tried to find any traces of her friends, but was unsuccessful. She had no idea where to go or where they were. It wasn't until she noticed sensed something behind her and spun around with a soft gasp._

_Her hands flew up to her mouth as she gasped in horror, because floating in the air of darkness, were lifeless bodies of Lea, Riku, Donald, Goofy, Namine, King Mickey, Roxas, a boy who looked like Roxas but in different clothing, Terra, and two other people she didn't recognize; a blue haired woman and a black haired girl who looked like Kairi herself._

_All of them were transparent and blue, their hearts hovering above them before they vanished. Kairi reached out to them in dismay, before another familiar figure appeared, standing motionless with his head down._

_"Sora?" She spoke. It was Sora, the same as she last saw him before he and Riku left the islands for the Mark of Mastery exam. Kairi felt worry and relief, but as she was about to run up towards him, she screamed when she felt and then saw a giant black hand clasped her by the lower part of her body._

_Struggling to pull herself free, Kairi looked and gasped in horror as Sora suddenly turned into stone, which then became shattered into pieces right before her eyes, and his heart becoming covered in darkness before being held captive by the most unusual Heartless, chained up before it become swallowed by it and then vanished._

_"Sora! Give him back!" Kairi screamed out, tears falling from her eyes as she sobbed, devastated at the lost, before she shrieked as she was yanked back and then drawn up towards the face of the dark giant who captured her. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw bright yellow glowing eyes which belonged to an elderly man who leered at her._

_She shrank back in fear, just as a gothic like Keyblade appeared, one with a single blue eye at the tip of the blade that peered into her heart and soul. As a simple wave from the man's other hand, the Keyblade flew straight towards her in high speed, as Kairi gave out a scream..._

* * *

"AAAH!" Kairi screamed as she jolted upright, awake and shoving aside a warm, soft blanket, panting too quickly. She looked around while trying to figure out where she was, before seeing that she was back in the royal bed chamber, in a soft and comfy bed that wasn't here before, and a very worried and rather startled Lea sitting beside her in the chair that was from the dresser.

"You okay?" The red haired man asked, both worried for Kairi's distress and very relieved that she was awake. She looked up at him and, after finally remembering what happened, she realized that what she just saw had been nothing more than a terrible nightmare. Lea was still alive, and if he was here, then Sora and everyone else were safe too...at least for now.

But it still had been horrible, and felt far too real.

"Axel..." Kairi whispered, relieved as she mentally told herself to calm down. "What happened?"

"That stupid hag put you under a spell. Then she ran away, laughing her head off." Lea answered, sounding disgusted before sighing as he admitted, with a look of guilt and concern. "You had me worried. I thought you'd never wake up."

"I'm sorry...I froze up. I couldn't move in time, and...you got hurt because of me." Kairi lowered her head, unable to meet the man's eyes. "I was scared."

"Nah, don't worry 'bout that." Lea shook his head, looking away as he gazed to his right. "It's my fault it ended up like this. If I hadn't convinced you and the nice fairies to leave Aurora alone, she wouldn't end up sleeping 'til she gets that true loves first kiss."

Kairi slowly followed her friend's gaze and her heart wrenched at the sight of Aurora lying on the bed, arms folded neatly on her stomach with the blanket covering her legs. It was then that Kairi realized that the three fairies created the bed she was currently sitting on to make her more comfortable, but there was no sign of them.

"Where are Flora, Fauna and Merryweather?" Kairi asked, looking at Lea again.

"Remember that weird memory we both saw of that guy Terra meeting Maleficent?" Lea replied, and when Kairi nodded, he added just in case she forgot. "Those three went to put everybody else 'cept me to sleep, only until Sleeping Beauty wakes up."

Realizing what he meant, she then asked, "Do you think we'll meet the memory of Terra?"

"Not sure. Maybe." Lea shrugged, struggling to meet Kairi's eyes. "I'm sorry. I tried to protect you, and...I'm really sorry." He shut his eyes and lowered his head in guilt, wanting to yell and scream at himself for doing something so stupid.

Which was why he tensed up in surprise when Kairi stood from the bed and hugged him. Lea blinked, not sure what to say or what to do, until she whispered, "None of us knew or remembered it would happen. It's not your fault. And...thank you, Axel."

Lea felt embarrassed and awkward, really not used to this sort of thing, and he knew that he was terrible in trying to cheer people up. It was even more awkward that Kairi was reassuring him and was thanking him for saving her, or at least trying to. He could do a lot of things...but the mushy stuff was not on that list.

"How about...I buy you and the others heaps of ice cream to make it up?" He awkwardly replied, slowly wrapping his arms around Kairi and hugged her back, tensing but soon he and Kairi both began to relax in the embrace.

Kairi giggled despite the mood, and after a little while, they let go of each other with sad but reassuring smiles. Even though they both felt terrible for the situation Aurora was in, the fact that they felt and held trust to seek out comfort and give out apologuises was enough to fill their hearts with hope. They then heard familiar twinkles and turned to the window and saw three small orbs appear which then grew into the three good fairies who almost immediately saw that Kairi was awake, and they all smiled in relief.

"Are you alright, dear?" Flora asked.

Kairi nodded, "Mm-hm. I'm fine. Thank you."

"Not to be rude here, but, I guess you already put the whole kingdom to sleep, right?" Lea apologetically spoke up.

"Yes, but we need to hurry back to the cottage. Prince Phillip will be there." Flora replied, urgently.

"Uh...wanna run that by me again?" The redhead asked, confused while Kairi also held a puzzled expression.

"It was a misunderstanding. As it turns out, the young man Aurora met earlier was not any stranger; it was Prince Phillip who doesn't even know that he met the Princess, and believes that she is a peasant girl." The red fairy explained.

"Huh? No way!" Lea exclaimed as he and Kairi both stood up shock.

"So Prince Phillip doesn't know that he's fallen in love with Aurora who fell in love with him, the very prince she's supposed to marry...?" Kairi realized. To think that both the Prince and the Princess fell in love with each other, both believing each other as peasants and not realizing each other's true identities, and up until returning to the cottage, Aurora hadn't known she was a princess. This was twist of events.

The three fairies nodded, and when Kairi and Lea glanced at each other, they both nodded with determination, knowing what has to be done. They glanced back at the trio as Kairi volunteered, "Let us go with you. The Heartless are still out there and Phillip could be in danger."

"Are you sure, dear? You two were hurt by Maleficent." Merryweather asked, concerned.

"We'll be fine. Don't worry." Kairi reassured.

"It'll take more than some old creepy witch to get rid of me." Lea said with bravery and determination, adding. "I can take on any kinds of danger, 'cause I'm tough, and so's Kairi."

The three fairies thought about it for a moment, before nodding and also held the similar expressions as the two young people.

"Then let's hurry." Flora declared, and everyone else nodded.

But as the five of them raced out of the chamber to head back into the woods, they were unaware that Maleficent was already one step ahead, and as they followed the fairies, both Kairi and Lea forgot another detail...one that wasn't going to happen in this version of Enchanted Dominion.

* * *

At the cottage in the woods, Maleficent and Diablo were watching with satisfaction as the former's minions had tied up and gagged Prince Phillip who had arrived to meet the peasant girl he met earlier, but was caught in the evil witch's trap.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I set my trap for a peasant, and lo! I catch a prince!" Maleficent remarked, and laughed evilly as things were becoming much better in her favor than ever before. She then commanded her minions to take the struggling prince away, but also to be gentle with him as she calmly followed.

While they were making their way to her domain, none of them were aware that Saix, having arrived just a short time ago, was observing the events unfold from behind the cottage even as the group were heading towards the Forbidden Mountain.

"Even though this is only an illusion based on the memory of this world's past, it still carries out the same way as it had been twelve years ago. Only here, Master Xehanort's three victims as well as himself will not arrive." The blue haired man spoke to himself coldly, before teleporting away to leave the Timeless Realm behind for now.

It was too early to confront the new Keyblade Wielders, and he still had yet to bring another member of the Organization to Xehanort to help them fill the ranks, but there was plenty of time to meet both Guardians of Light.

Soon he decided, but not yet.

* * *

The group raced back as fast as they could, and while Kairi and Lea took out the Heartless, it was already dark at night and so they relied on the lights from Flora, Fauna and Merryweather who glowed as they flew. But as the group finally made it back, they noticed that the door was open and when they went inside, they all gasped in shock and horror as not only the little house was a mess, but a red hat with a feather on it was lying on the floor.

It didn't take the five of them long to figure out what happened, as they cried out in unison, "Maleficent!"

"She's got Prince Phillip!" Merryweather exclaimed.

"Dang it!" Lea cursed in frustration. "She's one step ahead of us!"

"We have to save Phillip!" Kairi exclaimed, worriedly. She turned to the fairies and asked pleadingly, "Do any of you know where she is?"

Flora nodded in realization, knowing only one place that Maleficent could have taken Prince Phillip. "At the Forbidden Mountain."

Fauna gasped in shock, protesting in no small amount of fear. "But Flora, we can't go there!"

"We can, and we must!" Flora pointed out, turning to Kairi and Lea and requested, "The pathway to the mountain is very dangerous, but I must ask you to help us rescue Prince Phillip."

Lea placed a hand onto his hip and responded, a bit teasingly. "Like we're gonna say no?"

"Of course we will help you. We want to make sure Prince Phillip is safe and Aurora wakes up as much as you do." Kairi added firmly. Though she was a little afraid to confront Maleficent again, Kairi knew that it had to be done, and if she wanted to help all of her friends and prepare for the upcoming Keyblade War, she would have to face her fears.

"Then lets hurry along." Flora said, and Kairi and Lea both nodded firmly, while both Fauna and Merryweather were a bit reluctant, they knew that the red fairy was right; Phillip was their only chance in ever awakening Aurora to break the spell, and they had to save him from Maleficent's grasp.

* * *

The group hurried out of the cottage and through the forest to the path where the Forbidden Mountain would be. But as they were nearing the forest's exit, they skid to a stop when a shadow suddenly loomed over them. When Kairi and the others looked up, they gasped as a large Heartless that was in a form of a giant Spinning Wheel, but with a head of large yellow eyes and sharp jaws, one of it's arms being a large deadly looking Spindal, and was on four wooden legs.

"Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, you go on ahead! We'll catch up!" Kairi instructed as she and Lea summoned their Keyblades, ready to fight. The three fairies nodded and floated away to safety while hoping that the two young warriors would be alright.

"She has this thing about spinning wheels, didn't she?" Lea remarked sarcastically about Maleficent.

Kairi didn't reply to the sarcasm. Instead, she focused on the opponent who drew back it's spindal arm and quickly brought it forward to attack her and Lea. The two of them quickly jumped out of the way just as the giant needle stabbed the ground, creating a small hole while sending small pieces of dirt and rock into the air. Ignoring the dirt and rock, Kairi ran up to the giant Heartless and even though the size of it did scare her, she attacked it by the legs as hard and quickly as she could, thrusting her Keyblade at it while it roared in pain.

Lea sent out three orbs of Fire at it's legs on the other side, and then slashed them with his Keyblade before jumping back when the Heartless attempted to whack him. As the Heartless jumped while forcing the two Keyblade wielders back again, it jumped all over the place creating huge tremors that shook the ground which made it difficult for Kairi and Lea to keep their balance without getting hit or squashed. Kairi wasted no time and when it stopped jumping about, she chanted her Flower Shoot at the back of it's head, causing it to stumble forward in pain.

She and Lea then both attacked it from behind while avoiding it's arms as they went. Kairi leaped up into the air and slashed the back of it's neck as quickly as possible and chanted Light which caused it to roar in more pain before she landed safely on the ground in a crouch, jumping back to give Lea some room as he performed a new attack that he'd been practicing with his Keyblade since before the two of them left their training ground. He held his Keyblade up above him before channeling it with fire, and then sent it at the Heartless's back, causing more damage.

The two of them kept on fighting the Heartless while getting a few injuries before healing themselves with potions that managed to find along the way towards here, until finally one final slash each from Kairi and Lea was too much for the Heartless to handle. With a final roar of pain, it collapsed onto it's back with a thud before vanishing into oblivion.

As Kairi and Lea both panted in slight exhaustion at the hard battle, they stood up straight while dismissing their Keyblades and shared proud and victorious smiles for having teamed up and taken down a giant Heartless. However, before they could say anything, everything around them froze before vanishing in darkness, before it was replaced by a static image of Aurora's bed chamber, with the Princess still lying there, and the two of them standing in front of the chamber.

"Not again!" Lea groaned.

"Look!" Kairi gasped, pointing at what or rather who was in front of them. Lea looked and gasped as there stood Maleficent and Terra, who were having a conversation.

"_Imagine with me, the most glorious of futures... Seven of the purest hearts, each overflowing with light. When brought together, they grant the power to rule all worlds._" Maleficent was telling him.

"_What do you mean?_" Terra asked, suspiciously.

"_Why, that key you hold... The Keyblade, is it called?_" The evil fairy replied, which made Terra gasp at the mention of the Keyblade and, as though coming to realize that she is someone to be trusted, he summoned his own Keyblade and stood in fighting stance, and while Kairi and Lea this was just another memory, they glared at Maleficent's back.

"_Where did you learn that name?_" Terra demanded.

But before Kairi and Lea could hear Maleficent's response, the image quickly changed and while both Maleficent and Terra vanished, it was still the same room. But this time a familiar spiky haired teenage boy entered the room, one that made the two of them gasp in shock. For Kairi, it looked like Roxas but...remembering her nightmare, it was the one who wasn't Sora's Nobody.

"Ventus?" Lea gasped, recognizing him almost instantly. Kairi looked at him in surprise, before turning back to Ventus as realization formed; So that was Ventus.

"One of the missing Keyblade wielders." Kairi whispered, as she and Lea both watched Ven notice the sleeping Aurora and, curiosity getting the better of him, silently approached and seemed to be in awe, right up until the three good fairies suddenly appeared silently behind him, and were in defense.

"_Stop! You get away from her!_" Merryweather demanded, startling Ven who spun around in confusion at first.

"_Oh, I'm sorry._" Ven apologized sheepishly, walking away from the sleeping Princess as she sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "_It's just, I've never seen anyone so beautiful._"

Kairi couldn't help but giggle at Ven's response, while Lea snorted a laugh. Flora fluttered around Ven while inquering, "_Who are you?_"

"_I'm Ventus, but you can call me Ven._" Ven replied friendly.

"_Oh... You don't seem bad, dear. I'm certain you have a pure heart, just like our precious Aurora._" Fauna said, once she and the other two fairies realize that Ven is not a threat.

Ven nodded, before asking. "_Can you tell me why she's sleeping?_"

"_Long ago, Maleficent cursed her. Now she's stolen her heart._" Flora explained in sadness.

Kairi and Lea both shared a glance, and just either one of them were about to say something about this memory, it shifted and changed once more, this time they found themselves in a creepy looking throne room which made them alarmed again as they looked around, but then they noticed an angry looking Maleficent standing in the middle, while Ven and the three good fairies were just exiting a hallway but stopped upon seeing her.

"_Someone has released Aurora's heart. Tell me, child, was it you?_" Maleficent hissed as she turned to face Ven with a glare.

"That's 'cause you stole it in the first place, lady." Lea hissed even though he knew Maleficent wouldn't hear him or Kairi while Flora exclaimed the witch's name.

"_Only 'cause you stole it in the first place!_" Ven yelled back, as though repeating what Lea said. The teenage boy summoned his Keyblade which he held it backwards and rushed over to attack, but missed when Maleficent teleported away and up to the top of her throne.

"_A Keyblade... You must be Ventus._" Maleficent remarked evilly, causing Ven, Kairi and Lea to look up.

"_Huh?_" Ven muttered, before demanding. "_How do you know about me...and the Keyblade?_"

Before Kairi and Lea could hear the answer, or maybe not an answer, the memory shifted again, and it showed them the same room and everyone was still there, except this time Ven seemed to have battled Maleficent, because the evil witch was holding a hand to her chest as she walked up the stairs back to her throne, breathing heavily.

"_There's no way Terra would hurt somebody like that!_" Ven snapped.

"_You don't believe me? That's unfortunate, for he agreed so easily._" Maleficent smirked evilly, which shocked Kairi and Lea, while Ven looked dismayed and in disbelief.

'_Just like with Riku...except, something isn't right._' Kairi thought to herself. Still, the hurtful tone in Ven's voice ached her chest, while Lea clutched his fist as he glared up at Maleficent.

"_He did?_" Ven muttered.

"_Ven! Don't be fooled!_" An unfamiliar voice to Kairi and Lea cried out, as they, Ven and Maleficent looked in the same direction, seeing the unfamiliar blue haired woman with a Keyblade of her own, and only Ven recognized her.

"_Aqua!_" Ven exclaimed in surprise.

"That's Aqua?" Kairi asked, surprised.

"The same one the other guys are tryin' to find right about now." Lea muttered, just as shocked. He had to admit she looked pretty, but also stern yet kind at the same time. Yet given this Aqua's appearance, he could get why King Mickey was concerned considering that the poor girl was corrupted in darkness and was running around the Realm of Light.

"_Terra would never do that. You know that as well as I do._" Aqua informed her friend, to which he nodded in agreement, realizing that she is right.

Yet the memory flashed around Kairi and Lea before they could hear what else was about to happen, and in an instant, the found themselves back on the bridge, this time Maleficent was again defeated, and Aqua, on her own, was standing behind her, apparently having fought her, but Ven wasn't seen anywhere.

"_It's the power of true love that defeated you._" Aqua informed the injured and furious witch.

"_I will not be defeated by something as insignificant as love._" Maleficent hissed.

"_You don't even know the first thing about it. You're too clouded by darkness to see that there's something greater._" Aqua shook her head, and while she glanced at the castle, with Kairi and Lea staring at her, wondering what happened with Aqua, Ven and even Terra even though they slowly realized that Xehanort had done this to separate them...slowly leading them into his trap.

The blue haired woman turned back to Maleficent and continued, "_Try all you want, but you'll never defeat a heart filled with light._"

"_Perhaps..._" Maleficent sneered, before turning to face Aqua and continued. "_But remember one thing-as long as there is light, there will be darkness. And in time, many more will be drawn to it. Then they will all belong to me!_"

With those final words, Maleficent spread her arms out and soon vanished while leaving behind her evil laughter while Aqua tried to stop her but couldn't and could only grit her teeth before sighing.

She then gazed up at the sky and murmured worriedly, "_Terra... You better stay strong for me._"

"...Aqua..." Kairi whispered, worriedly. As soon as she did, everything around Kairi and Lea wavered again and in the blinding light which they had to shield heir eyes, they soon found themselves back in the same area where they defeated the Heartless and time returned.

"Okay, I'm startin' to get creeped out about this." Lea admitted, looking around a bit nervously.

Kairi was about to reply when Flora, Fauna and Merryweather floated over looking very relieved, but what Kairi and Lea didn't see was Ven, though given that this was only a realistic illusion, they knew they couldn't say anything and sound like they were crazy.

"Is everything all right?" Fauna asked. Kairi nodded with a small smile while Lea gave the trio a thumbs up with a smirk.

"Thank goodness. But we must be careful. Who knows what we will find in Maleficent's castle. Come along, dears." Flora warned, and Kairi, Lea, Fauna and Merryweather nodded, before they all hurried towards the path leading up to the Forbidden Mountain.

Even though both Kairi and Lea didn't understand why they saw the memory of this world when they haven't even seen the illusions of Terra, Ven or Aqua at all. Still, they knew they had to think about that later, and instead focused on their task which was to rescue Prince Phillip.

* * *

**A/N: As I said a couple of chapters ago, the dark moments, at least most of them from the real KH3 will be in forms of nightmares in this story. The next chapter will conclude the story illusion arc of Enchanted Dominion before we return to Sora, Donald and Goofy.**

**See you then!**


	18. Chapter 17: Different view, same story

**A/N: This will be the last chapter I'm posting this week because tomorrow and the next week or so I'll be busy, but I just thought I'd finish the Enchanted Dominion arc before the weekend hits.**

**To the guest review: That's a great idea, I like it! Thanks! I'll keep that in mind when Agrabah comes around, though it'll be a while before we reach it.**

**Now then, onward, everyone!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 17: Different view, same story.

The Forbidden Mountain. Dark, cold, terrifying, with an aura of evil surrounding it. It was no wonder no one even dared to approach it before until now. Kairi, Lea, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather crept up the rocky road towards the bridge and gates of the dark, tall castle that was Maleficent's home. They silently peeked from behind a rock, and crept closer until Lea noticing something and gestured the others to stay back and hide. One of Maleficent's goons, a guard, was patrolling the area, but didn't see the five of them and turned back.

"That was close." Lea whispered.

"How do we get in without getting their attention?" Kairi whispered worriedly. She knew charging in was a bad idea, and she knew that Lea was thinking of the same thing.

Fortunately, the three good fairies were also thinking along the same lines and instead looked up to see a window. The three of them glanced at the two Keyblade wielders with Flora whispering, "Let us sneak through there. It's far too dangerous to go straight in."

"Annnnd, how're we gonna do that?" Lea asked skeptically when he and Kairi saw what they were seeing.

"Follow our lead." Flora replied. Once she was certain Kairi and Lea, who both shared another glance, were ready, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather waved their wands around themselves and the two young people as they all became absorbed in orbs of light, shrinking into small lights which then floated up towards the window and through mouse holes. When the orbs cleared, Kairi's group emerged and were standing just in front of one of the holes in the wall from above the walls.

"Oh my gosh! We've been shrank." Kairi exclaimed softly in shock as she and a shocked Lea looked around and saw how huge everything suddenly was. Yes, she has heard stories of Wonderland from both Sora and Riku and how they shrank and grow in certain areas like the Bizarre Room and Lotus Forest, but Kairi never knew that being no bigger than a mouse-well, a mouse who wasn't King Mickey or Queen Minnie-would be this amazing, and a bit terrifying.

Especially in Maleficent's castle.

"Well...that's one way to sneak into a bad guy's home." Lea remarked, shrugging. To him, it wasn't the first time he'd been shrank. As a Nobody, Lea had been to Wonderland on missions more times than he can count, and the Lotus Forest was always huge unless you drank a growth potion, or shrink in the bizarre room. Plus he heard Roxas's stories when the younger Nobody went there from time to time too.

Being small in Wonderland, in Lotus Forest in particular, always gave him the creeps. Though being shrunk down to size in a place like this was just as creepy.

Not to mention how Luxord wanted to return to the Castle that Never Was as a giant in what he thought was a good idea for easier and faster use to defeat the Heartless, which Roxas thought that Saix would deny, and lo and behold, the blue haired man strictly forbid it and ordered the two to head back to Wonderland to return the gambler Nobody back to normal size. Though by then, Axel had been...(1)

'_What was I doing during that time?_' Lea thought to himself, realizing that, to his shock, was connected to the mystery black haired girl he still struggled to remember. But he mentally shook his head, telling himself that this wasn't the time to try and remember his own past.

"I wonder where we will Prince Phillip." Kairi muttered, becoming a bit more nervous, but attempted to not let her fears get to her.

"I think we have to see where Maleficent is without her knowing we are here." Fauna stated.

"Good place as any." Lea nodded in agreement.

With that in mind, the group continued to creep through and around the castle without any of the goons realizing they were here, even though both Kairi and Lea had to take down Heartless who surprisingly shrank themselves, which made it easier of the new Wielders to take on since they didn't want to end up fighting against giant Shadow Heartless. Though they had to be careful in not making too much noise to get the minions' attentions.

* * *

Eventually, and with the fairies helping Kairi and Lea hover up to places that were too high for them to climb or even leap up safely, they peeked from the side of the window and saw lots of minions dancing around what they saw was a bon fire in the middle of the throne room, with Maleficent watching with satisfaction and Diablo with her.

"What a pity Prince Phillip can't be here to enjoy the celebration." The evil witch was saying evilly to her Raven, chuckling before standing. "Come, we must go to the dungeon and cheer him up."

As Maleficent walked down the stairs with Diablo following her, Kairi and Lea both glared at the two before they and the three fairies silently followed her. While the tiro flew, Lea and Kairi carefully leaped, and hopped down from ledges to ledges, and then more mouse holes until they allowed Flora to use her magic to help them levitate up to the dungeon door just as Maleficent opened it and stepped inside. The five of them peered through one of the holes of the door's small window as she approached Phillip who was gazing down to the ground, his arms and ankles chained to the wall.

"Oh, come now, Prince Phillip. Why so melancholy?" Maleficent mocked a sympathy. "A wondrous future lies before you. You, the destined hero of a charming fairy tale come true."

She then waved a hand over her staff, as the orb then revealed images of the Stefan's castle, as she began to say. "Behold, King Stefan's castle, and in yonder topmost tower, dreaming of her true love, the princess Aurora."

The image then revealed Aurora in her chamber, to which Phillip instantly recognized her, as Maleficent continued, mockingly. "But see the gracious whim of fate. Why, 'tis the self same peasant maid, who won the heart of our noble prince but yesterday. She is indeed most wondrous fair. Gold of sunshine in her hair, lips that shame the red, red rose. In ageless sleep she finds repose. The years roll by, but a hundred years to a steadfast heart are 'bout a day."

As Maleficent continued, the image then revealed Phillip as an old man, beard and all, walking away from Maleficent's castle which the gates slowly open, but the witch's voice soon dripped with sarcasm. "And now, the gates of the dungeon part, and the prince is free to go his way, a valiant figure, straight and tall, to wake his love with love's first kiss, and prove that true love conquers all."

This angered not only Phillip who stood up and tried to attack her, but the chains were holding him back as Maleficent laughed evilly, but also angered Kairi, Lea and Merryweather.

"You horrible, evil witch. How could you?" Kairi whispered angrily, furious at just how cruel Maleficent is, more so than ever. It was terrible enough of what Maleficent did to Aurora, what she did to Kairi herself, and the real Maleficent having done the similar thing twelve years ago in the Realm of Light, and what she did to both Terra and Riku. But the witch's plot to keep Phillip imprisoned for one hundred years just added to how cruel she really was.

"I really don't like that old hag." Lea grunted, doing his best to hold back the urge to charge and attack her despite his current size. He was even more glad now to have saved King Mickey, Queen Minnie, Donald and Goofy from the real Maleficent and Pete in Disney Castle when he went to ask for the King's help to speak with Yen Sid for his request to learn how to wield the Keyblade.

Then the two of them and the fairies saw that Maleficent was about to turn and quickly hidden themselves above the door to avoid in being seen.

"Come, my pet. Let us leave our noble prince with these happy thoughts." Maleficent gestured Diablo, leaving the angry and struggling Phillip behind. She then locked the door behind her and smiled evilly, believing that her task is finally done. "For the first time in sixteen years, I shall sleep well."

Though what she didn't realize was that things were about to go wrong for her. Because as soon as she and Diablo vanished into her own tower above, Kairi, Lea, and the fairies magically flew into the dungeon through the window and Flora, Fauna and Merryweather used their magic to return both themselves and the two Keyblade Wielders back to normal size, approaching Phillip who'd given up struggling and sat back down, only look up in surprise at the unfamiliar group.

"Shh. We're here to help." Kairi shushed, as the others nodded before both Flora and Fauna worked on unlocking the chains from the Prince. Merryweather unlocked the door, to which Lea opened slightly to look and check just in case any of the goons would be arriving.

"Now, Phillip. The road to true love may be barred by still many more dangers, which you alone will have to face. So arm thyself with this enchanted shield of virtue and this mighty sword of truth." Flora whispered, using her magic to create the said shield and a pure silver white sword that appeared in the Prince's hands. "For these weapons of righteousness will triumph over evil."

"And we'll be helping too. We can't let Maleficent get away with this." Kairi added.

"I still got a score to settle with her, considering what she did to my friend here. So we'd better get movin' and fast." Lea concluded.

While Phillip wasn't sure who these fairies and people were, he felt and knew almost instantly that he can trust them, considering how they were helping him to escape so that he can reach the maiden whom he now knew was the Princess was supposed to marry, and was actually relieved to do so. So he nodded and followed the group outside after also retrieving his royal cape.

Unfortunately, they didn't get far as just as they running up the stairs to the nearest exit, they ran into Diablo. The raven, having been suspicious about intruders, squawked loudly before flying off and soon enough a large horde of Maleficent's minions came running down with weapons in hand to recapture the group.

"Uh-oh!" Lea yelped worriedly.

"Run!" Kairi cried out. No one argued as they all quickly ran back down the stairs, though Heartless also appeared, blocking their way. Kairi's eyes narrowed as she scowled at the monsters while summoning Destiny's Embrace. "You leave us alone!"

Lea followed her lead and summoned Flame Liberator, joining her and Phillip, his new sword in hand, into the battle. The trio quickly took on both the Heartless and some of the Minions as quickly as possible to try and clear the path since they knew that the window was their only exit. Kairi bashed away one Heartless that tried to attack Phillip from behind, and Lea whacked one of the ugly hog minions who crashed into several other hog and bird-like minions into a tangled pile.

Phillip fought off one Heartless and clashed against the weapons of the minions before the pathway to the window was clear. He, Kairi and Lea jumped out one by one while avoiding the throwing spears and arrows, and slid down a slope, safely outside of the dungeon tower, but were not out of the woods yet. Some of the minions above them began to throw boulders towards them.

"Watch out!" Flora cried out, quickly using her magic to turn the rocks into harmless bubbles that floated down gently.

"Thanks for that." Lea sighed as he, Kairi and Phillip stood up, before running towards the exit again, only to notice more minions about to fire arrows at them.

"Don't even think about it! Flower Shoot!" Kairi chanted, casting her magic spell at the minions on the wall, blinding them and sending most back while the other few that weren't harmed, stared in shock before running away screaming, too scared to even try and attack any further. Wasting no time, Kairi and the others hurried along faster, taking out as many Heartless and avoiding both the monsters and the minions as possible.

Though as they neared the exit, Diablo, realizing that the minions were unable to recapture Prince Phillip and stop the fairies, the red haired young man and the sixteen year old girl, attempted to wake up Maleficent and warn her of the escaping group. But Merryweather, seeing this, decided to take the matters into her own hands. She flew up and tried to blast magic onto the raven who, seeing this, quickly dodged narrowly and flew away in fear, shrieking. The blue fairy followed, continuing to blast her magic at the bird until finally she caught him and just as he landed on the stone railing, he was hit and was cut off, now turned into stone.

Nodding with a gesture of 'good riddance', Merryweather quickly flew down to her fellow fairies and the three young people to escape back to Stefan's castle.

"Silence!" Maleficent yelled, emerging from her tower when the commotion was keeping her from her own beauty sleep. She was about to tell Diablo to order the minions to stop making a racket when she saw to her horror that not only he was stone, but then noticed Phillip escaping as well as the two familiar people she met; the man with red hair and the girl whom she put to sleep but was now clearly wide awake.

"No!" Maleficent gasped in horror and anger.

Kairi, Lea, and Phillip narrowly escaped through the exit just as the gates slammed shut behind them and they and the fairies raced back down the stone path, fighting off Heartless that continued to get in their way, and even avoided Maleficent's dark Thunder Spells as the evil witch climbed to the very top of her tower in fury, now knowing that she must stop them herself.

The group raced from the Forbidden Mountain to the forest, and through there towards the Castle, taking out the Heartless that tried to block their path. When they were just outside of the Kingdom, Maleficent held up her staff and spun it above her head, creating a vortex of dark lightning and black clouds.

"A forest of thorn shall be his tomb. Born through the skies on a fog of doom. Now go with the curse and serve me well, Round Stefan's castle cast by spell!" She chanted, pointing the staff at the Castle. Lightning shot out from them and created a large thorns began to grow all over the bridge, cracking mortar and stone. The dark needled plants cover the landscape around the bridge and the castle, two large vines wrap around the bridge, crushing the stone fence around it.

Kairi, Lea and Phillip came a stop just in front of the thorns, then glared at them.

"Move it!" Lea growled at the thorns, cutting some with his Keyblade, as did Kairi while Phillip used his sword to do the same. They continued to cut their way through the thorns, careful not to get their clothes caught and after what felt like forever, they finally made a clearing and hurried on, already halfway across the stone bridge.

Much to Maleficent's shock.

"No! It cannot be!" She yelled, before deciding there is only one way left to destroy her enemies. If she can't contain Phillip or keep Kairi asleep and make Lea suffer, then she will have to end their lives. Maleficent soon teleported from her tower and appeared right in front of the trio who skid to a stop and stood in defense, glaring at her.

"Don't you even know when to quit!?" Lea grunted, with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

"On the contrary, boy." Maleficent hissed back. "Now you, the prince and the little girl shall deal with me. It is quite a shame that the child with you must end her life this way."

"You just don't understand, Maleficent! You can't be defeated by the power of true love or friendship." Kairi pointed out, standing ready. She knew that her words wouldn't get through to this version of Maleficent, just as Aqua's words to the real one never got through in the Realm of Light either.

"Hmph. I will never be defeated, child. Soon you shall see-all the powers of hell!" Maleficent bellowed, as she threw her arms outward, loosing a great pillar of green flame, her dark shadow etched in its smoky tendrils as the world flashes and her form changes. She then grew larger, her black cloak expanding outward

and filling with green. From her back, large wings push outward splitting to her sides, knocking the green from her body into sparks. The black wings connect with gray translucent skin to a large black body, heavily muscled and scaled. The dragon rears back on its hind legs and slams the ground, eyes a blazing yellow.

The dragon reared back and shot out huge green flames which forced Kairi, Lea and Phillip to dodge and avoid it. The Prince then tried to attack, but was forced back and quickly used his shield to protect himself being set alight. Kairi quickly used Blizzard to try and put out most of the flames, but it did only so little. Lea attempted to toss his Keyblade at Maleficent, but she knocked it back and he was forced to catch it, and Prince Phillip hit her on the mouth with his sword, and swiped at her when she tried to bite him. Both missed repeatedly until she spewed a large flame that began to spread across the thorn forest.

Without little choice, the trio quickly retreated until they found themselves against the wall. So Lea helped Kairi up while leaping up the top, and Phillip quickly climbed to follow, but Maleficent was catching up to them as she stomped her way towards the escaping trio who soon found themselves cornered and trapped on a cliff. Kairi, Lea and Phillip turned to see that Maleficent had them where she wanted. Sharing a nod, the trio readied themselves to fight their way through.

'_I won't be afraid. I have to be ready, for Sora and Riku's sakes._' Kairi thought to herself with determination, and it wasn't just her best friends she was thinking about, which she soon realized that as she thought about Sora and Riku, but it was also Lea, King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Namine who needed her. They were somehow giving her the strength that she needed. The strength to protect them, because she was a part of them just as they were a part of her.

Kairi leaped out of the way when Maleficent made to try and bite her, only for the Princess of Heart to whack her several times on the head, and then chanted Thunder at the dragon's head, causing the evil witch to roar in pain, and even more so when Lea attacked her by one arm and Phillip slashed at the side of her face, forcing Maleficent to rear back and stomp, causing shock waves that nearly sent the three of them over the cliff, but they managed to stop themselves. They then rolled out of the way when Maleficent attempted to blast them with fire again, before Kairi, despite her magic quickly becoming low, cast Cure on herself, Lea and Phillip.

"Freeze!" She chanted Blizzard at Maleficent's side, decreasing the dragon's temperature, and then Kairi ran over and slashed at the same spot. She jumped back when Maleficent tried to swipe her again, before Lea jumped and bashed the dragon on the top of the head, forcing her down in agony while he landed in a crouch. Then he summoned a ball of fire from his Keyblade and shot it at Maleficent's left eye, and Phillip slashed and swiped at her side. Maleficent roared in pain and anger as blood began to flow freely due to the injuries.

"That's for putting Kairi to sleep!" Lea shouted at Maleficent before he jumped back to avoid in getting eaten when she tried to chomp him.

But Maleficent once again took advantage as just as Kairi was about to use Flower Shoot, the former thrust her head and knocked all three of them to the ground again as they cried out before crashing onto the ground in pain. Kairi tried to push herself up, just as Maleficent reached out a clawed hand to grab her, which Lea noticed and he gasped in horror.

"No!" He screamed, ignoring his pain and ran to try and save her. Lea pushed Kairi out of the way, but was grasped in Maleficent's huge claws as he cried out, arms pinned to his side as he was then lifted up from the ground. Lea struggled and squirmed to try and free himself, but the grip was too strong as Maleficent was about to eat him.

Kairi, from the surprise of being pushed out of the way, looked up and gasped in horror as she realized that Lea had just risked his life to save her...again, and now was about to eaten right before her eyes. No! She can't let that happen! She didn't want him to die again!

"Axel, no!" Kairi cried out, moaning as her body protested from the bruises and injuries she got and held out her Keyblade, chanting in desperate attempts to save her friend. "Flower Shoot!"

Fortunately, she made a clear hit, as her attack hit Maleficent in the face which forced her to let go of Lea who fell as he cried out in alarm before hitting the ground hard, wincing as his back and ribs and arms hurt. He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to dull the pain while Kairi ran up to him and fell to her knees, gently resting her left hand onto his right shoulder.

"Axel, are you okay?" Kairi asked, worriedly. Lea panted, unable to answer for a moment until he forced himself to look up at her, and smiled reassuringly at her, glad that she was alright.

He then noticed Maleficent which had Kairi turn to see as well, as the evil witch growled before attempted to blast another set of flames at them. The two gasped, unable to move in time as Kairi turned again, throwing herself over Lea and buried her face into his chest to use herself as a shield, much to his shock as he tried to move, to at least use himself as a shield to keep her safe, but he was too sore and his body stubbornly refused to move. Fortunately, neither had to worry as Phillip slashed Maleficent in the stomach, distracting her before he stepped back a little when the three fairies flew up to him, using their magic onto the sword which soon glowed in light.

"Now sword of truth, fly swift and sure, that evil die, and good endure!" Flora chanted.

Phillip aimed and then threw the Sword toward the dragon, striking it near the heart. Maleficent roared a scream, before lunging forward towards the Prince who moved out of the way. She crashed into the cliff which crumbled underneath her, and soon fell to the ground below, landing with a huge thud and then melted into darkness. When Phillip, Kairi and Lea, who both saw they were alright and what had happened, all looked over the now smaller cliff, they saw that the evil witch had been rendered into nothing but her cloak, the Sword of Truth still on it.

The three of them stared at the now lifeless form of Maleficent before standing, with Kairi casting Cure on all of them before looking back and saw, now that the evil witch was gone, the thorns vanished and the castle was returned to it's original bright state.

Knowing there was one thing left to do, the trio and the three good fairies hurried safely down, and raced towards Aurora's bed chamber, through the doors and were back in no time flat. Phillip, seeing the Princess whom he fell in love with and mistaken for a maiden, slowly approached her and kneels over the sleeping beauty. He bends to kiss her and her eyes open, and upon seeing the Prince whom she recognized as the man she fell in love with, smiles.

Kairi, Lea, and the three smiled happily as the four women shed tears of joy. Lea softly chuckled, as even he wasn't immune to this sort of thing.

* * *

Half an hour later, Phillip and Aurora were in the thone room of the latter's parents who hugged her happily as everyone else in the Kingdom were also awake, fully unaware of the events that happened while they'd been asleep. Now the Prince and Princess, happy to be together after fully learning of each other's identities and accepted their future of marriage, danced.

On one of the balconies above them, were Kairi and Lea who, fully healed up, observed the happily ever after with bright smiles, and even laughed a little when Aurora's dress suddenly turned from blue to pink, back to blue then back to pink, as both Flora and Merryweather bickered by changing the dress to the colour they preferred, while the happy couple were unaware.

"This is so sweet. I'm really happy for them." Kairi said with feeling.

"Yeah." Lea agreed, though he couldn't help but whisper in disappointment. "It's too bad the real Maleficent is still around, causin' problems outside of the real version of this world."

Hearing this made Kairi frown in concern, leaning back from the railing as she muttered. "That's something I don't understand. This is an illusion based of this world's memories. But things are different to what really happened; The fake Maleficent's gone, and we haven't met Aqua, Ventus or Terra. We only saw the memories of what they went through."

"I think I have a bit of an idea on that." Lea muttered after thinking deeply about it for a moment.

"Huh?" The teenage girl blinked, confused.

"You remember what Riku told ya' about Castle Oblivion, right?" Lea began, and when Kairi nodded, he continued. "The worlds formed there are memories from both Riku and Sora, but things went a bit more differently in those illusions, and they didn't even see versions of themselves, and the people that they remembered were illusions in that place too, meaning they never met them like their real selves did."

"So technically, it's like with the Datascape that King Mickey mentioned in his letter when he told Sora, Riku and I about Aqua, Ventus and Terra, the memories Namine found in Sora's heart." Kairi correctly guessed. "But...that still doesn't explain why we saw those memories that happened randomly while we were here."

"Yeah, it's new to me too. Though unless Merlin made a magical glitch or whatever, I got a bad feelin' that our test's been hijacked somehow, and if that's the case..." Lea trailed off, feeling uneasy.

Kairi nodded, sharing the feeling. "Then Xehanort knows where we are and could be trying to get to us...to get to me..."

"Not if I can help it." He said with determination, and face her a confident grin. "Since this sort of thing happened before, all we gotta do is go along with it and then when we finish up our training, I'll figure out how to get us back home. Got it memorized?"

Seeing how Lea was right, and his confidence actually made her feel better, and even safe, and that she felt like she was getting stronger as well, Kairi beamed a smile and nodded. "Yeah, and I'll figure it out too."

Just as her companion gave her a proud smile, the two of them heard a twinkling sound which made them look to the back of the wall and saw, glowing in light, was a Keyhole. As Kairi and Lea's eyes widened in awe and soon realization as they approached to investigate, their Keyblade suddenly materialized in their hands, surprising them. Seeing how this was the first Keyhole for their test despite the situation they were in, the two shared a firm nod and held out their weapons.

Beams of light hit the Keyhole which glowed brighter and not only made a locking sound, it also revealed an entry point of light, their exit from this world, and entry to the next step of their journey. With that, Kairi and Lea carefully stepped through as the light shone brighter, filling up the room as they soon left the illusion of Enchanted Dominion, and onward to the next illusion world.

Yet this was just their beginning of the hard journey up ahead.

* * *

_Back in the Realm of Light...during Sora's visit in Kuzco Empire..._

While Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kuzco and Pacha were still attempting to return to the Palace, and Yzma and Kronk still looking for them to kill Kuzco, Maleficent and Pete had snuck into the Palace in their search for the Book of Prophecies. They searched through Kuzco's royal Bed Chamber, the Treasure Room, the Library, even the Yzma's Secret which, while Maleficent simply teleported into, Pete had decided to go through the secret door...

Which you can imagine what happened when he pulled the wrong lever.

Emerging from another door, Pete grumbled, soaking wet and with the alligator biting on his clothes. He punched the reptile on the snout and grunted, "Get off me, ya' stupid overgrown lizard!"

The Alligator whimpered and scurried away back to it's watery domain, while Pete stormed up to the levers again as he complained. "Why are there two levers in the first place? Whoever came up with this here idea is a moron!"

As Pete pulled the lever, he was thrown into the wall and landed into the roller-coaster cart, much to his surprise and quickly became nervous when he realized he was about to go on a ride...a very scary ride.

"_**Please remain seated and keep your arms and legs in at all times.**_" The robotic voice announced.

"Uh oh..." Pete gulped, worriedly. He held onto the bars just as the cart when down in a twisted wild lane down into the deepest reaches of the lair. He screamed at the top of his lungs in pure fear. The cart then came to a stop at the bottom and Pete was flown out screaming, landing on the floor hard and slid on his face before coming to a stop, collapsing and dazed.

Dizzy and seeing stars, Pete pulled his face from the floor, groaning. "Oooh...I hate this place."

"Enough fooling around." Maleficent spoke, as she had already finished her search around the lab and was disappointed when not even this place had what she was looking for. "And why are you all dripping wet?"

Pete shook his head to rid the dizzy spell, he groaned again as he explained in sheer annoyance and irritation. "I thought that there doorway would just be like other normal secret hide outs. I wasn't expectin' a wrong lever that has an underground lake and an alligator, or an entrance that had the scariest roller-coaster in history or to be flown out by said roller-coaster."

"Well, if you are finished, then we are best to leave. The Book is not here either." Maleficent responded darkly, and without another word, she summoned a Corridor of Darkness and began to enter, but not before she ordered her cohort. "And dry yourself off. You are making quite a mess."

Squeezing water out from his clothes, Pete grumbled in exasperation while muttering under his breath. "I coulda told ya' that."

He then noticed that Maleficent went up ahead of him, and Pete quickly ran up into the portal, calling out to her. "Hey, wait for me, Maleficent!"

As Pete made it inside the Corridor which closed behind him, the two villains soon left the world of Kuzco Empire, and onward to the next world in their search for the Book of Prophecies...

Which would be the same world that Sora, Donald and Goofy would be heading to next themselves to find the third Piece of Light, to locate the Key to Return Hearts.

* * *

_Not long after Yzma's defeat..._

Meanwhile, back in the Keyblade Graveyard, Young Xehanort stood alone as he gazed at the empty canyon before him, the tall rock formations that towered, the large craters left behind in the first Keyblade War, and behind it, was the actual Graveyard itself, filled with thousands and thousands of lifeless Keyblades.

But what he was actually thinking about was his several encounters with Sora and his friends just recently, what that boy believed in and he even said to him.

_"Xehanort, you're so caught up in finding the shadows, you forgot about the light that cast them."_

'_Yes, I did forget. But what he has forgotten is that I have yet to leave those islands without time travel, and that I will forget about all of this when I return to my timeline._' Young Xehanort thought to himself. Sora really was a gullible fool, which makes it easier to attack him and all those he cherished. At the same time, however, the spiky haired teen wasn't willing to give up and admittedly knew how to fight, Young Xehanort gave him that much.

"You seem to be in deep though." Another male voice spoke behind him. Brought out of his thoughts but surprisingly not startled, Young Xehanort turned to see another figure in the black coat, approaching him and soon stood beside him. "Thinking about that loser?"

"As a matter of fact I am." The silver haired young man replied. "I take that you were thinking about the one whom you came from?"

The other figure scoffed, saying in sarcasm. "What was your first clue?"

Young Xehanort smirked. "Hmph. And to think that I am the one who created you; both in your past, and my future. It must have taken an easy effort to have the power to do so, which is something I have yet to obtain. Very impressive."

"I was created to be one with darkness, to be darkness. It's too bad Sleeping Beauty doesn't remember much of his past, not even where he came from." The figure stated.

"And do you know?"

"Nope, not a thing and frankly, I don't care. All I want is to be with my brother again; to take back what is mine." The figure clutched his fist into a ball in front of him.

"You will get your chance soon enough. My elder self will make sure of it." Young Xehanort reassured evilly. "And once you get that piece of your heart back, you will be you, and no longer Ventus. Because his body will soon belong to us...Vanitas."

The figure, Vanitas, took off his hood and revealed that of his dark helmet. "Then I guess I'd better start looking for that idiot's heart before the other losers do. Too bad I won't be around giving Aqua a pounding or two since she'll be lost into darkness and become one of us."

With that, Vanitas vanished by teleporting away into darkness, leaving Young Xehanort alone once more, as the silver haired man chuckled evilly and turned his gaze back to the horizon before him.

Things were beginning to look up for the Organization, but Young Xehanort knew that one had to be very careful.

* * *

_Back with Sora's group..._

An hour or two after leaving Kuzco Empire, the gummiship sailed through the Lanes Between to take Sora, Donald and Goofy to the next world where they would be finding the third Piece of Light. They used that time to recover a bit more and to think of the next course of action. Sora yawned as he stretched his arms over his head, before holding them behind his head, feeling rather sleepy, or maybe he was just a bit bored as there wasn't much to do in a vessel like this.

"Gee, Sora. Ya' look like you could use a nap." Goofy remarked, noticing this.

"I just saw the weirdest memory of Roxas." Sora replied, which caught the interest of both of his friends.

"Another memory? What's it about?" Donald asked, curiously as well as a note of concern.

Sora thought about it, before answering. "It was when he was in the Organization. He and Luxord went to Wonderland and, by the end of the mission, Luxord must've drank the Growth Potion because he was a giant when he and Roxas went back to the castle."

"A giant!?" Donald, Goofy and even Jiminy who stood on the arm rest next to Sora exclaimed.

"Garwsh, he sure wasn't a giant when we met him. Are ya' sure it was a memory and not a dream?" Goofy remarked, confused and spooked out. Organization XIII in their normal sizes was bad enough. But for them to grow into giants...that was the next level of worry.

The spiky haired teen nodded. "Positive, 'cause I think Roxas mentioned something about Luxord's idea of staying that size for advantage being a bad idea, and Saix wouldn't allow it. Turns out he was right, because that guy wouldn't allow Luxord to enter until he returned to normal size."

He then snickered as he added, "The look on on his face looked ridiculous, though." as he pictured the look of utter dismay and complaint on Luxord's face in his mind which while Roxas wasn't amused back then, Sora couldn't help but think of that and Saix's bewildered and angry look as funny.

"I guess even the Organization thought having a giant member wasn't a good idea too." Goofy said thoughtfully.

"Well, I'm glad for that, because they're already cause enough trouble as it is. And giants are bad news too." Donald said, folding his arms.

Sora stopped laughing and nodded in agreement, "Especially giant Heartless and Nobodies. Those guys are tough enough, and I certainly wouldn't wanna go up against a giant person or anything else."

"Not to mention Monstro, 'cause he's the whale of all whales." Jiminy added, shuddering. This only made Sora, Donald and Goofy all shudder at that memory too.

"Ugh, please don't remind me." Sora groaned. "I sometimes still get nightmares of that overgrown whale. Worse part is, I couldn't save the dream versions of you or Pinocchio in the Sleeping Worlds from Monstro who almost had me for lunch that time too."

"It's alright, Sora. You at least tried." The cricket reassured, patting Sora's leg to comfort him, which made the teenage smile a little in thanks.

"That reminds me. I wonder who Axel's doin'?" Goofy thought aloud.

There was a bit of a silence on that thought, which made Sora lower his gaze in realization.

"Oh, I'm sure he's fine. Nothing can get by him." Donald waved dismissively.

"C'mon, Donald. Axel helped us out a lot." Sora pouted a little, gazing ahead in thought. "He and Roxas and Xion were all best friends. Just like me, Riku and Kairi. Except...Axel has his heart back, while Roxas is trapped inside me, and I have no idea where Xion is. Like with Aqua, Ventus and Terra, they were pulled away from each other and it's not fair."

"He's right, Donald." Goofy agreed. "Remember, Axel helped to save Sora from the Organization. And before that, he sacrificed himself to save us from them Nobodies when we tried to rescue Kairi."

Sora nodded, still shaken about that time. He had a feeling it was to protect Roxas and he felt his Nobody's sadness, but Sora had forgiven Axel when the redhead had apologized to what he did to Kairi, and the fact that risked his life to save them and atone for his actions was enough for Sora to trust him. In fact, after Riku restored his heart and Sora woke up, he'd been relieved to hear that Axel had returned as Lea, with his heart back.

But then at the mention of Kairi, Sora thought back of the terrible nightmare he had on the first night in Kuzco Empire; all of his friends, gone and their hearts taken by the unusual Heartless right before his eyes. And Kairi...captured by a giant dark form of what he assumed was Xehanort, and Sora himself being unable to save any of them. It terrified him more than anything...

Yet somehow, it was worse when he saw Kairi...taken away from him again. To be captured and swallowed by the darkness. The more Sora thought about it, the more he was certain his heart started to beat far too quickly, and while he knew that Kairi was training to become a new Keyblade wielder alongside Lea, the very thought of her being hurt or much, much worse made him swell up in the fear and sorrow. But really, losing any of his friends was horrible and devastating in and on itself.

He also knew that King Mickey had been hurting himself for the past twelve years, and had steadily gotten worse; Ventus' heart is out there somewhere, Terra was still missing, Aqua was corrupted, and Ansem the Wise...the day when he'd sacrificed himself had devastated the King, and Sora saw tears in his eyes, and knew then that Mickey was a lot like him.

As Sora had been thinking about all of this, he must've been silent for too long because not only he unconsciously shed tears and his heart, and very likely the heart of Roxas inside him, ached, but he faintly heard Donald call out his name.

"Sora? Sora!"

"Huh, what?" Sora blinked, brought out of his thoughts and suddenly noticed that his friends were now standing both sides of him, with worried expressions.

"You're cryin'. Are you okay?" Goofy asked.

"Huh?" Sora was surprised to hear this, and when he gently ran his fingers on his cheek, he saw and felt that his face was slightly wet. Realizing this, he quickly wiped them away to pull himself together while apologizing, feeling embarrassed. "S-Sorry. Don't know how that happened."

"Sora..." Donald murmured.

"Hey, I'm fine. Don't worry about it." Sora reassured, even though the others didn't look too convinced, but they decided not to press the issue. He sighed while saying, "I was just thinking. I mean, I'm supposed to find the Key to Return Hearts, but to be honest...I'm not sure how I can save Roxas and Namine. But at the same time...I can't give up."

"Well, gee, you already found two of the pieces of light. Five more and we'll find that Keyblade in no time, and we'll be able to turn Aqua back to normal and save everybody connected to your heart. I just know it. Ayhuck!" Goofy told him optimistically, and Donald nodded in agreement as did Jiminy.

Realizing that Goofy was right, and the reassuring from his friends was already making him feel better, Sora nodded, his own determination returning. "Yeah!"

He took out the two keys that he found and gazed at them in his hand. "We'll find a way. I'll figure it out." He said.

The moment he did, the keys suddenly began to glow in light which startled him and the others once more. Then, remembering how the last time it lead them to Kuzco's world, Sora held them up as the lights grew stronger. He gently let go and the two pieces floated before the two crystals shot out two beams of light, becoming intertwined as one into the distance. Knowing what to do this time, Sora summoned his Kingdom Key and held it out when it glowed once more, and with that, another gateway opened right before the Gummiship.

The Pieces of Light then dimmed before returning to Sora who grabbed them gently as it stopped glowing all together. He shared a glance with the others and all nodded in unison, knowing that their next stop was right there.

With that, Sora put the two keys back into his pockets and as all three of them returned to their seats while Jiminy hopped back into Sora's hood, the teenager piloted the Gummiship right into the portal to the next world.

Yet the next world would not only show them their next adventure and make new friends and new enemies, but also meet an old enemy whom they wouldn't even remember.

* * *

**A/N: That sums up Kairi and Lea's first Disney World in the Timeless Realm. The next chapter will reveal...well, I'll give you a clue: A young girl with a 60-foot long hair longs to see the lights that appear once every year on her birthday is about to finally get the chance, while learning about the outside world for the first time.**

**(1): This is referenced to KH: 358/2 Days Manga.**

**I won't be able to update for a little while with this story, but I promise I will return as soon as possible. Until then, see you later!**


	19. Chapter 18: The Tangled Meeting

**A/N: Hey, guys! Another chapter has finally arrived! First off, I wanna thank you all for all the reviews and favorites so far.**

**Secondly, to those who guessed the next world via the clue in the last chapter: Bingo! We're now in the Kingdom of Corona! Congratulations on making the correct guess!**

**Now then, let's begin the Tangled Arc of Key to Return Hearts!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 18: The Tangled Meeting.

_One year earlier..._

_"Why can't I go outside?"_

_"The outside world is a dangerous place. You must stay here, where you're safe. Do you understand, Flower?"_

In a beautiful world with a Kingdom just outside of a huge forest filled with beauty and a bit of scary parts, rested a small canyon like place with a waterfall and a small meadow, stood a tall, lone tower. It was quiet at night, and the only way up was through a single window that looked rather nice. Within the tower itself, stood a young girl, no older than seventeen, with green eyes, pink and purple dress, and most astonishingly, her blonde hair was 60-feet long, and much, much more than it's over-growth.

Her name is Rapunzel, and she was gazing out of the window, watching beautiful orange-yellow lights float up into the sky, watching them go higher as they light up the night sky.

_"Those lights appear every year on my birthday- only on my birthday. And I can't help but feel like they're...they're meant for me. I need to see them. And not just from my window...In person. I have to know what they are."_

She will see them one way, she just knew it. Rapunzel had always dreamed of seeing those stars up close, to see what the outside world really is all about. Little did she know, that soon on her eighteenth birthday, her life was about to change forever.

* * *

_Present Day..._

After arriving in a new world which the Gummiship scanned as "_**Kingdom of Corona**_", it wasn't long before Sora, Donald and Goofy teleported out and were now walking through the thick but rather nice looking woods, not like the one back in Kuzco Empire. To add it up of the nice scenary, it was a warm day and the sun shined through the trees. Goofy shielded his eyes with his hand as he looked up and smiled.

"It sure is a pretty day." Goofy remarked.

"Yeah, the weather is great." Sora agreed, stretching and handing his hands behind his head with a smile. "It'd be great for a picnic."

In fact, a nice day in a nice area like this one would be perfect for a picnic. Sora smiled at the thought; maybe once this is all over and everyone was safe, they should all go out together for a picnic. He couldn't wait for that day; Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, even Lea, Roxas, Namine, Xion, Aqua, Ventus and Terra.

"Do you think we'll find the third Piece of Light here?" Donald asked, and while he liked the idea of a picnic too, they still had a job to do.

"We were brought here by the other two pieces, so yeah. Though I have no idea what else is happening here." Sora replied.

"We'll figure it out as we go, and look for that third key." Goofy said optimistically.

"Okay..." Donald sighed.

"Hey, I'm sure there's another good reason in coming here, but can't we sweat it later?" Sora responded.

Despite that this wasn't the right time to relax, Donald knew that they all needed a break once and while and a picnic sounded like a great idea. "Fine with me, as long as there's no Heartless."

Too bad he spoke too soon, because the next thing the trio knew, there was a loud scream behind them. As Sora, Donald and Goofy spun around, all of the sudden they saw a man being flown backwards and landing hard on the ground on his butt. He was a tallish young man in his early twenties, brown hair, blue eyes, wearing a dirty white shirt with a blush-green vest, light brown pants and dark boots. He winced at the hard landing before looking up and all three of them saw a bunch of Heartless appear above him.

"Heartless!" Sora exclaimed, both in alarm and in annoyance. Why did those things always have to appear at the wrong time?

The man quickly stood up and ran towards Sora's group who quickly stood in defense, as he screamed out to them. "Make way! Make way! Make way!"

He ran past the trio who stumbled out of the way, before Sora, Donald and Goofy quickly summoned their weapons. The man in the meantime took shelter behind a rock and panted in exhaustion, before nervously peeking around it to see that those guys, strange in his opinion due to not only their clothes or their weapons, but also the appearances of the duck and the dog.

"You see? Soon as you mention 'em, they show up!" Sora grumbled to Donald as though the mage had just jinxed them.

"There goes our picnic." Goofy sighed in agreement.

Donald glared at his friends, protesting. "I didn't do it!"

"S'okay." Sora shook his head, deciding that the Heartless has to be taken care of first. "Let's send these guys packing."

The man, named Flynn Rider, seeing how they were actually going to fight the monsters, decided to make this as his chance to escape and said to the group, "Say, since you three seem to know what you're doing, mind if I leave this one to you?"

Sora nodded. "Yup. We'll take care of them. Go on, skedaddle!"

"You have my thanks." Flynn replied, before hiding again as he whispered to himself with a groan. "The horse was enough. Don't need any monsters on my trail."

Being a thief, he had enough on his plate since those three guys had no idea what he stole or what was going on. Flynn had already avoided the two thugs the Stabbingtion Brothers, and that crazy white horse belonging to the royal knights trying to arrest him, and the said horse was no ordinary horse; he really hated Flynn with a vengeance!

"The *what* was enough?" Donald's voice asked suspiciously.

Uh oh. That little guy must've overheard him.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. Name's Flynn. Flynn Rider." Flynn quickly replied, before quickly pointing at the Heartless to get Donald's attention away from him. "Oh! Watch out, they look mad!"

Donald quickly turned to focus on the Heartless once again, fully unaware that this was a distraction for Flynn to make his escape. As the man slowly crept away to avoid in being seen, he soon made a run for it as fast as he could down the road and further along into the woods. The trio in the meantime began fighting the Heartless. Sora tossed his Keyblade at one of the Heartless that strangely looked like a dandelion, hitting it twice before dodge-rolling out of the way when it shot out sharp flower buds that looked deadly. He then cast Firaga to finish it off before sensing movement and slashed at the Monkey-Heartless which he hasn't seen since the Deep Jungle. It vanished almost instantly.

Donald blasted Firaga and Thunderaga at the Soldier Heartless and even the tall Flower Heartless, but was pinned by his tail feathers when one of the sharp flower buds prickled him hard. He screamed at the pain before running to avoid it and angrily set it on fire to get rid of it while his own opponents were now focusing on Sora, hitting him in the stomach before the Keyblader slashed it in half. Donald then took care of the Soldier Heartless even though he had to down an elixar to reboost his magic.

Goofy spun around and around with his shield, knocking away the Heartless-Monkeys and other types of Heartless like a couple of flying ones. But was nearly knocked over even though he was hit in the leg causing him to yelp in pain. He then protected himself with his shield when another Flower Heartless tried to attack him, but it's own attack was deflected and shot back at it, inadvertly destroying itself in the process. He then noticed a Heartless that was above Sora's head and gasped.

"Look out, Sora!" Goofy cried out, tossing his shield a bit awkwardly, but his aim was straight and true. It sliced through the flying Heartless just as Sora looked up just in time to see what happened. The shield then spun back to Goofy who caught it, but nearly lost his balance as he spun his arms in alarm while trying to stop himself from falling.

"Thanks, Goofy!" Sora called out.

"A-yhuck." Goofy chuckled, giving him a thumbs up.

The three of them continued fighting the Heartless until at last the last of the monsters were gone...at least for now. But that wasn't all that was missing.

"Huh? Where'd Flynn go?" Sora asked, realizing that the man had disappeared.

"He skedaddled." Donald stated.

"I think I saw him go thataway." Goofy said, pointing down the road where Flynn at taken.

Sora and Donald both looked and blinked in confusion.

"Huh? But "thataway" is... just a dead end." Sora pointed out. He was right; beyond the path was just a wall of rock within the woods. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Yeah. That's puzzling." Goofy realized, scratching the side of his head in equel confusion. Why would Flynn go that way if it was just a dead end? It didn't make any sense.

"Well, did he?" Donald asked.

"I say we investigate." Sora decided, adding as another thought came up in his mind. "Hey, maybe we'll find the third Light piece there too."

Donald and Goofy both perked up at the idea, realizing that the teenager may be right. It was worth in looking anyway.

* * *

Turns out they stood corrected. Because when Sora, Donald and Goofy arrived, all they found was the tall rock that towered over them, and a large fern of leaves there. On top of that, Sora couldn't sense the third Piece to the Key to Return Hearts.

"He couldn't have gone this way." Donald said, and he was right.

Maybe Flynn had gone in another direction while the group had been busy and didn't see him run off in the opposite direction...which is where they would have to go next in order to find what they were looking for. Sora then shrugged.

"Well, at least he got away safe. Right?" He replied. But as Sora was leaning back to lean against the rock, his hands once again behind his head...all he could feel were the leaves and...thin air behind him. Sora soon fell through the leaves, yelping, "W-whoa! *Omph*!"

When Donald and Goofy looked around and turned back to Sora...he wasn't there.

"Hey! Now Sora's gone too!" Goofy exclaimed. Where did the Keyblade Wielder go? He couldn't just simply vanish...could he?

Just then, the duo heard Sora call out to them, rather excitedly. "This way, guys! It's a secret passage."

'_A secret passage?_' Donald thought as he wondered how Sora's voice was speaking through...the wall? But as Goofy moved the ferns, the two of them saw that not only was Sora sitting on the ground before he stood up, but also that behind the leaves was not rock but a cave-like tunnel. A secret passage, just as the spiky-haired boy had said.

Sora smiled, as this new secret passage reminded him so much of the secret place back on the Islands, though it was bigger than the one on the island he, Riku and Kairi used to play on a lot as children. As Donald and Goofy joined him in awe, the trio enthusiastically hurried through before slowing to a stop as they stood into the clearing of the small canyon, with a gorgeus waterfall behind the tower that stood in the middle.

"A tower!" Sora exclaimed. Feeling the need to investigate, he turned excitedly to his friends. "Let's check it out!

Donald and Goofy, while both wondering why there was a lone tower in the middle of nowhere, and the only acess being a window, nodded in agreement. It was worth looking into.

Right?

* * *

One minute Flynn had awkwardly climbed up the tower to hide after also avoiding the brothers that couldn't get to him, and found himself in a rather creepy but surprisingly cosy home, silently stealing a brush and a mirror for measure, the next thing he knew he heard a yelp before being whacked in the face.

Because when he woke up, Flynn found himself tied up in a chair, and then felt something wet and slimy into his ear that made him yelped.

"What happened?" Flynn shook his head, and tried to sit up, only to realize he was trapped. But when he looked, it wasn't rope he was expecting, much to his confusion. "Is this...hair?"

True to his words, it was indeed hair...lots of it, and blond too. Who in the world had this much thick hair?

"Struggling... struggling is pointless!" An unfamiliar girl's voice spoke out from nowhere. Flynn looked around, trying to find the owner of it as the girl continued, "I know why you're here and I'm not afraid of you."

"What?" Flynn asked, feeling nervousness creep up. Oh, great. Now he was captured by someone who probably knew his reputation and whoever it was that was holding him captive will probably call the knights and he'd be arrested, he was sure of it.

Or so he thought.

From the shadows of the room, emerged Rapunzel who crept up to him slowly, holding a...frying pan as a weapon? Well, that certainly explained why he was knocked out in the first place, especially since she's the owner of the longest hair he'd ever seen that was currently used as a rope. On her shoulder was a small cameleon named Pascal who glared at him suspiciously.

"Who are you, and how did you find me?" Rapunzel questioned.

...Okay, so she had no idea who he was. That was a bit of a plus.

Sighing, Flynn began after clearing his throat. "I know not who you are, nor how I came to find you, but may I just say..."

He paused before greeting casually and as friendly as possible with a smirk. "Hi. How ya doin'? The name's Flynn Rider. How's your day goin'? Huh?"

Unfazed and still very suspicious of this 'Flynn Rider', Rapunzel pointed the frying pan directly at the intruder's face, continuing to question him. "Who else knows my location, Flynn Rider?"

"Alright, Blondie." Flynn began.

"Rapunzel." The blonde-haired girl corrected and introduced herself.

"Gesundheit." Flynn replied, before realizing that 'Rapunzel' was the girl's name...which was odd. He then decided to worry about that later and continued, "Here's the deal. I was in a situation, gallivanting through the forest, I was running from monsters, which I've never seen before by the way, I came across your tower and..."

He then cut himself off and realized that in the admist of being knocked unconscious and tied up, his bag was gone. He looked around fraquently and realized that he was empty handed and began to panic. "Oh, no... where is my satchel?!"

"I've hidden it." Rapunzel said proudly, folding her arms in triumph. "Somewhere you'll never find it."

"It's in the pot, isn't it?" Flynn asked, after scanning around...

_**WHACK!**_

* * *

After being whacked unconscious by the frying pan again, Flynn once again felt something wet and slimy in his ear that jerked him away, and then realized that the source of it was Pascal giving him a wet willy with it's tongue. Ugh, gross.

"AH!" Flynn screamed, causing the little reptile to jump off his shoulder and back onto Rapunzel's while he cried out to it. "Would you STOP THAT?!"

"Now it's hidden where you'll never find it." Rapunzel told him, before circling the still tied up prisoner, questioning him suspiciously. "So, what do you want with my hair? To cut it?"

"What?" Flynn asked, now dumbfounded. Where did this come from?

"Sell it?"

"NO!" Flynn shouted in frustration, explaining. "Listen, the only thing I want to do with your hair is to get out of it, _lit-er-al-ly_!"

Rapunzel was about to continue questioning Flynn when his remark about only wanting to get out of her hair since he was still tied up in it gave her and Pascal a pause. Was he telling the truth?

"Wait, you don't want my hair?" The young woman asked, surprised and still suspicious.

"Why on _Earth_ would I want your hair?" Flynn asked. Surely there was nothing special about the hair despite it being ridiculously long. But seriously, who would waste their time in stealing other people's hair? Even he didn't go that far. "Look, I was being chased, I saw a tower, I climbed it. End of story."

"You're telling the truth?"

"YES!"

Rapunzel and Pascal shared a glance. While they were still uncertain whether Flynn was telling the truth or not, Rapunzel did suddenly feel that the man was, and that the only thing he wanted as that bag of his. Then an idea came into her mind; he's from the outside world, and thus knew more about than Rapunzel did. Then perhaps he knew about the lights that appear on her birthday every year at night.

"Okay, Flynn Rider. I'm prepared to offer you a deal." She finally said.

"A deal?" Flynn asked, incredulously.

"Look this way." She continued, approaching the wall and climbed up the shelf while using her hair to turn her captive. But she accidentally spun him too hard that caused both Flynn and the chair to fall forward, where he landed hard on his face.

"Omph!" He muffled painfully.

"Do you know what these are?" Rapunzel questioned, pulling away the curtain that revealed a painting she did of the lights since she was quite an artist.

"You mean the lantern thing they do for the princess?" Flynn strained, recognizing the shapes and the angle and he mentally had to admit, that wall painting was impressive. But at the moment, all he cared about was his sore face.

"Lanterns?" Rapunzel repeated. So that's what they are. "I knew they weren't stars." She smiled, before continuing her reason of the deal. "Well, tomorrow evening they will light the night sky with these lanterns. You will act as my guide, take me to these lanterns, and return me home safely. Then, and _only_ then, will I return your satchel to you. That is my deal."

Wait, what? She wanted him to take her to the Kingdom where they did the Lantern thing?

"Yeah...No can do." Flynn replied apologetically, struggling to try and at least hop on his side due to still being restrained, managing to now lie on his side while admitting. "Unfortunately...the kingdom and I aren't exactly _"simpatico"_ at the moment, so I won't be taking you anywhere."

He made the two fingers gesture when he said 'Simpatico' to try and make the point.

Rapunzel shared another glance with Pascal who was punching his fist into his palm, as though telling her that Flynn was playing it hard and that the only way to get him convinced was that unless he took her to the lanterns, he wasn't going anywhere and wasn't getting his satchel either. She nodded before hopping back onto the floor, and pulled Flynn back up with her hair.

"Something brought you here, Flynn Rider. Call it what you will: Fate... Destiny..."

"A horse." Flynn responded flatly.

"So I have made the decision to trust you." Rapunzel continued, ignoring the sarcasm.

"A horrible decision, really." He added.

"But trust me when I tell you this." Rapunzel added, pulling him close to her face as she glared hard at him, threatening. "You can tear this tower apart brick by brick, but without my help, you will never find your precious satchel."

"Let me just get this straight. I take you to see the lanterns, bring you back home, and you'll give me back my satchel?" Flynn asked to clarify it.

Rapunzel noddd. "I promise."

Flynn looked at her suspiciously, not sure whether to take the girl's word or not.

"And when I promise something, I never ever break that promise." She added.

An eyebrow was raised.

"EVER." She concluded, and Pascal nodded.

Oh boy, this was gonna be tough. Flynn looked away, trying to think of something. He couldn't let the girl see that Tiara he'd stolen. Okay, just think...he needed that satchel back, but Blondie had it. Not to mention that there could be more of those weird and deadly monsters out there which didn't help and he wasn't much of a fighter either...Wait! Those three guys in the funny looking clothes. They sure would come in handy as bodyguards.

Perfect!

"Alright, fine. I'll take you to see the lanterns. But on one condition: my three sidekicks come along." Flynn turned back to her with a charming look.

Despite that she was suspicious about Flynn's 'sidekicks' that were waiting outside, and the suspicion that her hair was in danger continued to creep up, Rapunzel decided to take the risk and nodded happily.

"Really?" She asked, and when Flynn nodded, she happily spun around and said, "Okay, deal!"

But as she did, Rapunzel accidentally spun the chair around as Flynn cried out before he ended up falling flat on his face again with a pained moan. When she saw this, she cringed and muttered. "Oops."

Pascal on the other hand smirked in amusement.

"You broke my smolder." Flynn muffled weakly, moaning.

* * *

Back outside of the tower, Sora, Donald and Goofy had just arrived at the tower's base when they noticed something, or rather, someone, climbing down slowly and carefully. It was Flynn. But the trio soon discovered that he wasn't alone, because the next thing they knew, a very, VERY long blonde hair was thrown out of the window and the next thing they knew, Rapunzel came sliding down her hair like a rope and stopped herself from landing, just stopping inches from the ground.

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed in awe. Since when did people have super long hair like that?

Rapunzel, eying the grass up close for the first time, gently touched her feet onto it and as she stood on it, her eyes widened in excitement in awe. She knelt down and touched the glass with her hands.

"It's so soft!" She giggled, before seeing the lake and happily ran up towards it before beginning to play in it, with Sora, Donald and Goofy watching her in confusion. Did that mean that girl didn't get out as much?

Sora then turned to Flynn and greeted, "Hey, Flynn. Good to see you in one piece."

"Guys! You're here, and just in time." Flynn greeted in return.

"So um..who's she?" The teenage boy gestured at Rapunzel.

"Uh, that would be Rapunzel. Something tells me this could be her first time outdoors. Give her a few minutes to get used to it." Flynn asked, also amazed at the girl's enthusiasm.

"First time ever?" Sora asked, surprised. Donald and Goofy looked at each other, puzzled. Did that mean she never got out of this tower at all?

* * *

As the group of five(six if you counted Pascal) exited the small canyon and into the Woods, apparently a few minutes was more like half an hour since they stopped. The reason being is because Rapunzel was excited to finally be free...

And horrified and guilty for running away from her mother Gothel and disobeying her. This went on back and forth as Sora, Donald, Goofy and Flynn watched her.

"I can't believe I did this!" Rapunzel cried happily...

"I can't believe I did this." She muttered while sitting on the ground in shock and guilt...

"I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THIS-" She shouted excitedly...

"...Mother would be so furious." She muttered in worry.

Happily dancing around..."Well, that's okay! I mean, what she doesn't know won't kill her, right?"

Guilt and worry while sitting on the ground..."...Oh my gosh...It would kill her!"

Happily..."THIS IS SOOOON FUN!"

Guilt and worry..."I'm a terrible daughter. I'm going back."

Happily..."I'm never going back! WOO-HOO!"

Guilt..."I'm a horrible person."

Happily..."BEST DAY EVER!"

Crying while lying flat on the flowerbed..."Worst day ever!"

During this time, the group were leaning against a tree, and then gazed at Rapunzel, with Sora looking a bit sorry for the girl, and Donald and Goofy looking at her worriedly.

"I notice you seem a little at war with yourself here." Flynn commented to Rapunzel.

"A little more than a little." Goofy pointed out, feeling very sorry for Rapunzel.

"More like a lot." Donald remarked skeptically.

"Yeah." Sora nodded in agreement. He'd never met anyone who can switch from happiness to sadness and back and forth and so on and being torn in each second. But then hearing the trio's voices made Rapunzel look up and gasped before leaping to herr feet and held the frying pan she took with in her hands, hold it up threateningly at the group who stepped back in surprise.

"Stop right there! Who are you?" Rapunzel demanded suspiciously.

"I told you before." Flynn quickly stepped up. "My sidekicks."

'_Sidekicks?_' Sora thought in confusion, while Donald and Goofy looked confused as well. Why did Flynn call them his sidekicks?

"May I introduce, eh..." Flynn trailed off, realizing that he didn't know their names and looked at them, with a look that translated, 'Um, how are you guys?' and 'A little help, please?'

Getting the hint, Sora introduced himself. "Oh, uh...My name's Sora."

"Donald!" Donald introduced himself.

"And I'm Goofy. Pleasure, ma'am." Goofy greeted with a wave.

Rapunzel stared at them, and it wasn't until she could see that they looked very trust worthy and actually friendly as well. "Sora, Donald and...Goofy."

Relaxing, she lowered her 'weapon' and smiled. "It's...nice to meet you too. I'm Rapunzel."

"Yep. My sidekicks." Flynn said proudly, only for Sora to pull him aside as the latter and his two friends gave him suspicious looks.

"Since when is that?" Sora asked.

Sighing, Flynn whispered while explaining the situation. "Look, she really wants to see the lantern show tomorrow night. Now, I'm a nice guy, so I've decided to help her. Only problem is those monsters might show up again. I can get her to the kingdom, but you guys are clearly more cut out for combat."

The trio looked each other, and while they felt there was more to Flynn than what the guy was saying, he did make a good point. Plus it wasn't nice to leave Rapunzel on her own and she was eager to explore the outside world.

"That's 'cause we're heroes!" Donald explained.

"And we're Heartless experts!" Goofy added with determination.

Sora nodded, as it was decided that they should all go with. The four of them turned to Rapunzel as Sora said, "Just leave it to us!"

"Done!" Flynn said, and Rapunzel smiled happily, carrying her hair in her arms in a pile before she and her new companions walked on towards the Kingddom. As they walked, Sora, Donald and Goofy walked behind her and Flynn.

"Rapunzel is interesting..." Donald remarked to his friends.

"Yeah, her heart's pulling her all kindsa ways." Goofy agreed.

Sora smiled, as seeing Rapunzel like this made him remember the first time his journey began. "The outside world must seem so big and scary. I know how she feels."

He paused as did his two friends, and he continued. "Lucky for me you two came along at just the right time and the rest has been unforgettable."

"Awww..." Donald murmured as he and Goofy gazed at their young friend, both touched and sympathized.

"Yep...unforgettable." Sora continued after a moment of pause...at least he was certain all of his adventures were unforgettable. He then went up to Donald's face and added teasingly. "Just like your face!"

Sora then ran up ahead laughing, while a shocked and then very annoyed Donald called out to him, "Oh yeah!?"

"C'mon, now." Goofy reassured him...then took Sora's lead and laughed while joining the teenager, much to Donald's shock before he grumbled for being teased at. He then quickly ran up to catch up to his friends who were catching up to Rapunzel and Flynn who stopped and wated for them to catch up.

"All for one, one for all." Sora muttered fondly, remembering how the three of them first teamed up when Goofy said those words, which given the dream-memory in the Sleeping Worlds of the past, he, Donald and King Mickey learned when all three of them were musketeers.

Though as the group began their journey towards the kingdom, none of them knew that there was more to it than meets the eye and the obstacles ahead would be more than just the Heartless.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the tower, a black haired woman wearing a red dress and black coat, being Rapunzel's mother, had just returned when she saw, to her shock, horror and worry, that her daughter was missing. She called out to her, but got no response. Gothel searched all over the place, opening the curtains, looking out of the other only window, and then noticed something odd at the stairs.

Suspicions and sensing that maybe that would provide a clue, Gothel hurried over towards it and saw that the bottom step had been opened and reclosed recently. She opened it up and found an unfamiliar bag, before digging into it. First she saw Rapunzel's brush and mirror, and then saw...a Wanted Poster of a man named Flynn Rider(but the nose on the picture was wrong).

Finally, she pulled out...a silver tiara with jewel in it. Gothel was horrified as she recognized it.

'_No...it can't be! If Rapunzel discovers the truth, I won't be able to..._' Gothel thought to herself. '_I have to get her back!_'

"Missing someone?" An unfamiliar man's voice spoke.

"Who's there?" Gothel demanded as she spun around, preparing to face the sudden intruder. But soon her suspicions suddenly grew into fear as a corridor of darkness appeared, and a man in a black coat, pink hair and yellow eyes emerged.

It was Marluxia, having returned and thus was now with the new Organization.

"She's such a precious gift." Marluxia stated as he approached the horrified Gothel who attempted to lean back as far away from him as possible. "Allow me to assist you in getting her back."

Gothel had no words to say. Only that as she continued to gaze at him, her eyes gave off a flash of red. For one thing, despite her distrust in him, she knew that he was right.

Gothel had to get Rapunzel back...fast.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that this chapter was short, but I didn't want to make the Tangled Arc short. I'll update this again as soon as possible. The next chapter will have a few more elements from the movie, and replace a couple parts from the game.**

**See you then!**


	20. Chapter 19: The Light of the World

**A/N: I know that some of you are waiting for me to update my other stories, but I've been in the mood to continue this story as ideas for it keep flooding my mind...plus life around me has been a bit crazy.**

**And to everyone in California suffering the Earthquakes, I hope you will all be okay and wish you the very best to recover and that the Earthquakes will stop soon.**

**Now then, onward to the next chapter.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 19: The Light of the World.

As Sora, Donald, Goofy, Flynn, Rapunzel and Pascal traveled through the woods, careful with the Heartless which the group took out, even with Rapunzel's surprising help with both the Frying Pan and her hair which made a good whip in smacking the monsters out of the way without damaging it, they also took a bit of time in exploring, and playing a little bit. Especially in a small lake which Rapunzel and Sora splashed each other while the latter made a rainbow by splashing water with his Keyblade.

After that, they continued onward and while they did notice wanted posters of Flynn yet deciding that to keep with the deal(especially since Rapunzel left the satchel behind in the tower to make sure Flynn didn't run off, much to his dismay) but soon stopped in a small clearing when they noticed an unusual white thing in the middle. This made the group suspicious, so Sora decided to creep up to it to take a closer look and see whether it was dangerous or not. After a few moments...nothing happened.

"All clear." Sora informed the group who all sighed in relief. Unfortunately, it wasn't all clear, because when Sora had his back to the thing, it suddenly bloomed into a body shape of a monster with a scythe, much to the other's shock.

"Sora!" Donald cried out a warning.

Feeling something wrong combined with Donald's warning, Sora turned looked back and then leaped back to his friends to avoid the monster's attack, as two more of the same kind appeared. Sora, Donald and Goofy all quickly summoned their weapons while Rapunzel stood in defense stance, and Flynn...well, he backed up a bit in fear. But it was the sight of the familiar symbols on the monsters' heads that made the traveling trio realize what they were.

"These guys? They're Nobodies!" Sora cried out in realization.

"Mother said the outside world would be full of ruffians and thugs." Rapunzel muttered, remembering what her mother had told her, yet not fully realizing the Nobodies were not even human, but she wasn't afraid either.

"Those aren't ruffians." Donald informed her. "Those are...uh...I dunno..." He ended up trailing off as he couldn't think of a way to call the Nobodies since they were...well, monsters that didn't exist.

Sora mentally rolled his eyes, and remembering that the Nobodies are slightly more harder than the Heartless, knew that both Rapunzel and Flynn were in even more danger. So he informed the young woman while not taking his eyes off the Nobodies. "Rapunzel, Flynn, stay back!"

"No! I want to help you fight." Rapunzel protested.

"I know. But I'm afraid you can't hurt these guys with a frying pan. Trust me on this." Sora pointed out, then urgently asked Flynn. "Flynn, could you explain?"

"No problem. Knowing when to flee is one of my specialties." Flynn replied, mentally thankful to use this as an exit as the Heartless were bad enough. Besides, he didn't want Rapunzel to end up hurt either. So he approached her and told her seriously, "C'mon, Blondie. Gotta go."

"But-" Rapunzel began.

"Look, I wanna stay and slug it out too, but my sidekicks have it covered." Flynn told her, though he was faking the feeling and really just wanted to avoid the monsters.

Realizing that she wasn't going to win this one, Rapunzel sighed and nodded before turning to Sora with a serious look. "All right. Please be careful, Sora."

Sora gave her an reassuring grin, before Rapunzel and Flynn hurried down into the woods and into a cave tunnel. The Keyblade Wielder and his two friends then turned their attention back to the Nobodies. One of them threw a scythe at the trio who quickly either dodged it or in Goofy's case, blocked it with his shield. Before it could return to it, Sora counter-attacked by tossing his Keyblade at the Nobody who winced in pain when it was hit twice and then he charged by striking it down as quickly as possible while blocking the scythe with his Keyblade to avoid in being sliced in half.

Though as soon as Sora defeated this Nobody while Donald used his Thunderaga Spell to injure another and Goofy whacking the third, to their dismay the Dusk Nobodies soon appeared, squirming their way to attack the group with their slender arms. They attempted to swipe at the group who fought back, though their opponents kept on dodging them as well and it didn't help that the scythe Nobodies were trying to slice them into pieces with their own weapons. Fortunately, Sora and Donald preformed a double team of using the latter's Fireworks spell to strike at the Nobodies all around them and Goofy, which helped a lot.

Sora suddenly had an idea and held up his Keyblade in hopes of using his Wisdom Form. But while his clothes did turn blue of that kind of magic, his Keyblade suddenly turned into two pistols of light and stars, much to his, Donald and Goofy's surprise.

"Whoa!" Sora gapped, then felt the new skill and power flow into his veins and heart and somehow he knew what to do. He focused on the skill and shot out several lights at the Nobodies who couldn't handle his new attack. As soon as the last two other appearing scythe Nobodies and Dusks were gone, his wisdom form vanished and the Kingdom Key returned to normal.

He then rejoined Donald and Goofy and took out the last of the Nobodies, and soon the cost was clear.

"Did you guys see that?" Sora asked eagerly. "My Keyblade never did that before!"

"That was cool!" Donald replied.

"It mustsa been your new clothes doin' that, Sora." Goofy thought.

"Yeah, must be." The teenager nodded, looking down at his clothes in wonder. It was more awesome than his old black ones were. He made a mental note to thank the three good fairies later if he got the chance to see them again. Then he returned to the situation and said, "But...the Nobodies..."

"You know who uses Nobodies." Goofy nodded, as he and Donald knew that this was no time to talk about Sora's latest new skill.

"The Organization!" Donald added.

Sora nodded. "Yeah. I'm surprised we haven't seem 'em."

Much to Donald and Goofy's shock and mentally trying to tell him to keep it down, Sora unthinkingly called out to whoever the member of Organization was that was here in this world. "I know you're there! Come out, you has-beens!"

"_"Has-beens"_?" An unfamiliar voice repeated, rather a bit skeptically, as a Corridor of Darkness opened up behind the trio who heard both it and the man's voice and spun around, getting into fighting stances once more as Marluxia stepped out, adding. "Now why would you say that?"

'_Must be a poor new guy. I don't remember seeing him._' Sora thought, unknowingly believing that this was the first time he was seeing this oddly pink-haired man. He then replied casually. "Because, bossing around the Nobodies? That's the old Organization."

He then asked sarcastically. "Why? Are you in the _"real"_ one too? Good for you."

"My name is Marluxia, and yes, that is correct." Marluxia introduced himself and ignoring the sarcasm, smirking at the boy whom he hasn't seen in the past two years. "How interesting it is to see you again, Sora."

"Again?" Sora repeated in confusion. When did he meet this guy? Better yet, why couldn't he remember? He turned to Donald and Goofy, asking. "You know 'im?"

The only response he got were both of them shaking their heads, as they couldn't remember or get when they met Marluxia either.

"A shame you've no memory of me, because I remember you exceedingly well." Marluxia responded at their reactions, his expression turning dark. "Although...it's those memories I'd soon erase."

Erase the memories? What was Marluxia talking about? The more Sora tried to think of how or when he and his friends met and very likely fought against this guy, the more he realized that he couldn't. Maybe Roxas knew him? It was hard to say as Sora didn't see any memories of that time, which meant that it wasn't very important at all, which made it even more confusing.

"I don't know what you're saying!" Sora yelled in frustration.

"Nor should you, nor will you ever, for that matter." The pink haired man replied. "Now, if you'll permit me, I've come to ask a favor."

"Favor?" Sora asked incredulously, while Donald and Goofy shared a dumbfounded expression. "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

"Please hear what I have to say. I'm sure you've noticed..." Marluxia began.

The only responses he got were Sora, Donald and Goofy holding even more confused and suspicious expressions. What was this guy on about? Why did the Organization always come up with random riddles and such that make no sense at all? And now all of the sudden Marluxia wants a favor from the trio? There had to be a catch to this, or a trick.

"Well, perhaps not." Marluxia sighed with a frown, mentally grumbling at the fact that he slightly forgotten that Sora was gullible and clueless as always. Deciding to forget about that, he continued. "But you should know that maiden with you, Rapunzel, is the very light of this world. I would see you guard her from the dark horrors."

"Huh!?" Sora, Donald and Goofy exclaimed. Rapunzel...was the light of this world? Meaning that she was...a Princess? But how did that make sense? They remembered meeting all of the Princesses of Hearts, including Kairi; Jasmine, Belle, Alice, Aurora, Snow White and Cinderella. They then realized that the Organization could now be targeting Rapunzel for whatever reason and stood in defense.

"Starting with you, right?" Sora guessed, glaring at the Organization member. If anyone were the dark horrors, it was Organization XIII, especially Xehanort. That awful old man caused so many problems right from the beginning.

"All the organization seeks is balance." Marluxia replied, which confused the trio even more. "You must understand, our ultimate goal is not to clash with the light. We seek to complement it. Use that Keyblade...to keep Rapunzel safe."

Before Sora could ask him what he meant, Marluxia vanished into darkness, leaving the group lost in thought. What did he mean by that? First Xigbar was lecturing Sora, Cloud and Hercules about their ideas and the mysterious reward, then 'Ansem' and Xemnas were talking about telling Sora to surrender into darkness in order to free Roxas, then Xehanort from the past was talking about darkness in Kuzco and that the young Emperor would never change and yet he did, and now this Marluxia guy wants Sora to protect Rapunzel from darkness and was saying that the Organization is seeking balance?

"Rapunzel's light..." Sora muttered. Did that mean her heart was special too? Just like the Princesses of Heart? It then registered to him that the said girl and Flynn weren't here. "Hey. Where did they go?"

"I guess they musta run on ahead." Goofy suggested, pointing into the direction of the forest and the cave tunnel up ahead.

"Then we'd better find them." Sora declared, and Donald and Goofy both nodded.

Unaware that a group of knights were scanning the area, and a white horse name Maximus was sniffling the ground, before he got a scent and gestured at the tunnel. The captain of the knights looked at him in confusion, causing the horse to give him a look in stating the obvious. The captain then got the picture and nodded and he and the rest of the group followed.

Yet they were all unaware that Gothel, hiding in a black cloak, was spying on them from behind a tree.

* * *

The tunnel was hollowed out of the earth, stone all around as Sora, Donald and Goofy entered it. It left plenty of space to carry a cart full of supplies and things like that. There were a couple of skeletions around, one with a sword in the chest that made both Donald and Goofy gulp nervously. Even Sora looked around with an uneasy look on his face. Fortuntely, Donald was using his Staff to light up the tunnel, using light to guide them.

Judging by the dust and cobwebs on the skeletions and ceiling above them, this place hasn't been used in a long while.

"I wonder where they went." Sora spoke up, trying to ignore the creepy vibes of this place.

"Don't worry. They couldn't have gotten too far...and they must've found a lantern or something to help them by now." Goofy reassured, even though he gulped for the second time.

"You just had to stop and talk." Donald scolded at Sora for talking to Marluxia rather than catching up to Rapunzel and Flynn.

"Hey! Blame the _"has-beens"_, not me." Sora protested.

"I think you mean Marluxia. I bet that's the name the has-been would prefer." Goofy said.

"I guess...But what did he mean by 'seeing us' again?" The spiky haired teen wondered. "And...about Rapunzel, what if Marluxia was onto something back there?"

"You trust Organization XIII?" Donald asked incredulously.

"What? No!" Sora replied. "Of course not! But...what if? I mean, Xehanort wanted to go after the Princesses, right? But if that's the case, why go after other people with light? Even though the darkness could be targeting everyone with light in their hearts."

"I agree." Goofy stated. "Why is Rapunzel in danger and the darkness is after her?"

The three of them thought about it for a minute, then came to a mutual agreement.

"Well guys, the first step is to find her." Sora declared, and just as Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement, he cupped his hands around his mouth and hollared, "Hellooo? Rapunzel? Flynn?"

His voice echoed a bit through out the tunnel. At first it went unanswered, so the trio decided to head on a bit further, until they heard a response from Rapunzel who, along with Flynn who was holding a lantern, and Pascal were approaching them from the opposite direction.

"You're here! And you're okay!" Rapunzel exclaimed in relief.

"Yeah! You too." Sora replied with a smile. "We took care of the monsters, so there's nothing to worry about for now."

"That's good." Rapunzel said.

"See? I told you they knew what they were doing." Flynn said with a smirk, only to lean back a bit in fear when Pascal gave him a glare.

Few minutes later the reunited group continued down the tunnel, explaining a few things including the guy behind the Nobodies, which had Rapunzel concerned and a bit scared.

"Do you think this Marluxia is after my hair?" Rapunzel asked, worriedly.

"Oh, c'mon. Other than being really along, why would anybody want with your hair?" Flynn asked, still finding the whole 'stealing hair' thing ridiculous.

"Not sure, but I think he's just after you in general." Sora shrugged, admitting. "For some reason, he seemed to know me but I have no idea when or where I met that guy before. What I do know is that he's with a group who cause a lot of problems to everyone, and not just for stealing."

"Yeah, they go around hurtin' folks and make stuff up." Goofy added.

"They're the real bad guys." Donald added.

'_Man, and the kingdom wants my head just for stealing that tiara? Come on, I may be a thief, but even I'm not that heartless._' Flynn thought to himself. Despite that he was a criminal, hurting others was never his thing as much. It's more of the case of steal, run and hide.

After a little bit of silence, Rapunzel looked at Flynn and asked, "So, Flynn. Where are you from?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Flynn held his hands up, shaking them at the unexpected question, which had Sora, Donald and Goofy look at him, curious themselves. "Sorry, Blondie. I don't do back-story. However I am becoming very interested in yours. I know I'm not supposed to ask about the hair."

"Nope." The teenage girl replied.

"Or the mother."

"Nuh-uh."

"Frankly, I'm too scared to ask about the frog." Flynn cringed, looking at the annoyed Pascal with fright. That only made Donald snicker in amusement.

"Chameleon." Rapunzel corrected.

"Nuance." Flynn said flatly. "Here's my question, though. If you wanted to see the lanterns so badly, why haven't you gone before?"

"Gawrsh, I was kinda wonderin' 'bout that too." Goofy admitted as he, Donald and Sora looked at Rapunzel who, to their surprise, began to chuckle nervously.

"Well..." She began, only for the ground to begin to shake. Rapunzel, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Flynn looked behind them to see what, or rather, who was making the tunnel shake. "Uh, Flynn?"

"RIDER!" The captain of the knights bellowed as he and the guards were charging down towards the group of five.

"Company!" Sora exclaimed, while Donald screamed in alarm.

"And not a real happy one!" Goofy cried out, nervously.

"Run, RUN!" Flynn cried out, knowing that it was the men coming to arrest and/or kill him. Sora and the others helped Rapunzel gather her hair before they followed Flynn down the tunnel to make their escape. Heartless and Nobodies appeared to block their path, but Sora, Donald and Goofy made quick work in defeating them.

The five of them soon found a light at the end of the tunnel and raced out, finding themselves on a rock ledge of a canyon, with a wall made of wood that formed a dam, while against the wall to the group's right, was a large rock wall with a complex system with water flowing through a chute through the canyon. To make things worse, their only way down was a rope ladder and through a hole in another tunnel.

To the left of that tunnel, a hole was blown open and two men, one of them wearing an eye patch, and brandishing swords emerged. These were the Stabbington brothers, and Flynn held an '_uh-oh_' expression when he saw them.

"Who're they?" Sora asked, as he and the others found themselves trapped.

"They don't like me." Flynn quickly answered.

By then, the guards emerged from the tunnel with their own swords drawn out.

"Who're they?" Goofy asked, nervously. Being a captain of the knights himself, he had a feeling the other captain wasn't as friendly as he was.

"They don't like me either." Flynn replied.

Just then, Maximus emerged from the tunnel and stood with the guards, whining angrily at Flynn with a furious look.

"Who's that!?" Rapunzel asked, shocked.

"Let's just assume for the moment that everyone in here _doesn't like me!_" Flynn explained, not really in the mood to go into the details considering how they were all gonna be dead meat at this rate.

"Looks like we have to fight off these guys." Sora stated, summoning his Keyblade. Donald and Goofy followed his lead with their weapons, and Rapunzel handed Flynn over the Frying Pan. After telling Rapunzel to go despite her protests once more, she swung her her like a lasso and tossed it to the other side before swinging to the other side of the canyon.

Sora clashed with the Captain who fought him with his sword, growling at the boy. "You alliance yourself with this thief, boy?"

"I don't know what's going on to be honest, but we're not gonna let you hurt our friends!" Sora replied, blocking the knight's sword and knocked it out of his opponent's hand before punching the man in the face, knocking him out.

Donald chanted Sleepza on his own opponents to avoid in fighting them like the Heartless despite that his suspicions with Flynn grew, but so far Flynn hadn't turned his back on them yet. Goofy smacked a couple of knights with his shield after protecting himself from their swords. He winced and mumbled an apology to the unconscious guards.

Flynn in the meantime was fighting against a couple of guards himself, blocking their swords with the Frying Pan and even found an opening with one of them, whacking at the face with his 'weapon' and rendered the guard unconscious. Stunned, he repeated the process until he, Sora, Donald and Goofy defeated all of the guards.

"Oh, mama!" Flynn exclaimed in awe as he gazed at the Frying Pan. "I've got to get me one of theseǃ"

Just then, to his and the others' surprise, a sword was brandished, which Maximus was holding in his mouth, glaring at him angrily. On top of that, more Heartless appeared which blocked the trio from helping Flynn who began to parry at the sword while dodging it and the horse who kept on trying to attack him. Sora slashed at the Monkey-Heartless that scratched him on the arm that he ignored despite the hissing pain, and destroyed it. Donald set a Flower-Heartless on fire, and Goofy whacked a soldier Heartless over the ledge, which landed on top of the Stabbington Brothers who fell to the ground. Fortunately the Heartless was destroyed upon impact.

"Oops! Sorry." Goofy muttered, winching when he saw what happened. He then quickly rejoined his friends to fight off the Heartless and try and help Flynn to fight off the horse...which was weird in and on itself.

"You should know that this is the strangest thing I have ever done!" Flynn commented to Maximus as they continued to parry and block each other's attacks as the sounds of clanging echoed through out the canyon. The fight unfortunately ended with the horse knocked the Frying pan over the ledge and into the canyon below.

Nervously, he turned to Maximus and suggested, "...How 'bout two out of three?" only to have the sword just inches from his throat and he held his hands up in surrender.

"Flynn! Sora! Donald! Goofy!" Rapunzel called out, as Sora quickly knocked the sword with his Keyblade, then everyone saw the blonde-haired girl had wrapped her hair around a rock and tossed the rest of it down towards them. The four of them, despite being concerned about the weight, jumped and grabbed hold of Rapunzel's hair.

While Sora only held on for a few seconds before letting go and landed on another lower cliff in a crouch, Donald and Goofy were a few seconds behind and screamed as they let go.

Unfortunately, just as Sora turned and saw his friends were about to crash land, he held his arms out to catch them, only for Donald and Goofy to crash into him and he stumbled before losing his balance and all three of them fell onto the ground into a pile.

Rapunzel in the meantime swung her hair and Flynn across the canyon and when she saw the Stabbington brothers about to slice him as he was heading towards their direction, she grunted and pulled her hair up, which pulled Flynn up and narrowly avoided the two men who looked on in shock and disbelief.

"HA!" Flynn laughed victoriously at the Stabbington brothers. "You should see your faces! Because you look..."

_**SMACK!**_

He was cut off when he found himself hitting into a beam in his stomach, hard.

"...Ridiculous." Flynn strained in pain with an agonized expression that would've been comical if everyone else who saw this hadn't felt sorry for him.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and even Maximus who wanted nothing more than to arrest Flynn, all cringed in sympathy. Flynn then let himself fall off the chute while Maximus kicked one of the supporting beams holding the dam up. The colum fell apart which allowed the water to spill out of the hole while the colum itself landed between the horse's platform and Rapunzel's, creating a bridge.

"C'mon, Blondie! Jump!" Flynn called out when the horse began to cross. Sora, Donald and Goofy jumped last after Rapunzel leaped down and swung towards the bottom of the canyon. Flynn in the meantime used the chute like a surfboard before reaching Rapunzel. However, while Flynn and Rapunzel reached the tunnel, Sora, Donald and Goofy were blocked by another group of Heartless that were the Water Element ones this time.

"Back off!" Sora shouted, slashing at two Heartless at the same time. Donald and Goofy finished off the other Heartless, only for them, Maximus, the Stabbington brothers, and even the guards that were regaining consciousness to look up and saw, to their horror, the dam completely fall apart.

Everyone cried out in alarm as the huge wall of water washed down onto everyone in sight, swallowing them in the process. Maximus, the guards and the Stabbington brothers were all engulfed and washed into both tunnels opposite to the one Flynn and Rapunzel had just entered. Sora, Donald and Goofy were underwater and pushed away while spinning backwards which reminded Sora of the time when Monstro in the Sleeping World of Pranksters Paradise sucked him, Pinocchio and Jiminy into the currents in the ocean. A boulder tower collapsed and blocked the entrance of the tunnel that Rapunzel, Pascal and Flynn had entered.

Forcing himself to do an underwater somersault, Sora regained his barings and grabbed hold of Donald and Goofy one arm each with both his hands to stop them from being carried away despite that they were increasingly going into the opposite direction of the water flooding the canyon. Remembering seeing Rapunzel and Flynn go into the tunnel that was now blocked, the three of them shared a glance and despite that the odds of finding them alive was becoming fearfully slim, they swam over towards the rocks as fast as they could.

Only for more of the Water Heartless, and even the Under-water Seaweed-Heartless to appear with false tridents of their own.

'_Ugh! __**Come on**__, gimme a break!_' Sora thought to himself in irritation. He tossed his Keyblade at three Heartless despite being underwater, but it was still effective enough. He then slashed and sliced through the Heartless and tried hard not to let the air out of his lungs when one of them attacked him, Donald and Goofy who struggled to do the same.

But they did manage to defeat the monsters and Donald used Curaga on his friends and himself despite his magic getting low, as was Sora's. So when they reached the boulder and knowing that they can jug down an elixir without drowning, the trio shared a glance and decided to try another idea. Sora, Donald and Goofy formed into a circle with their weapons out, and with much strength as they could, torpedoed towards the boulder and with several strikes with their weapons, the boulder was cracked and then broke apart into pieces, reopening the tunnel.

Sora gave his two companions a thumbs up before taking the lead as they all swam into the tunnel, with Donald using his Staff once more as light so that they can see where they are going. It wasn't long before they saw an opening, which was somehow made just maybe moments ago which told them that Rapunzel and Flynn managed to make it out to safety, and swum up, finding themselves in a pond. The trio took huge gulps of air, panting before they reached the shore, climbing out soaking wet.

Donald flopped on his front, exhausted. Goofy laid on his back, panting. Sora remained on his hands and knees, slowly recovering after being underwater by the huge current for so long.

"...We're alive?" Donald asked weakly.

"...Sure looks like it." Goofy replied tiredly.

"I sure hope Rapunzel and Flynn are okay. They have to at least be ahead of us again by now." Sora said, catching his breath. He stood up and shook water out of his hair. But as he turned back to the fairly larger pond than the one he and Rapunzel briefly played in earlier, as the sun was setting, he couldn't help but notice the reflection that was making the water sparkle in the late afternoon sky.

The more Sora stared at it, the more his mind was drawn back to that day...the afternoon before he and Kairi were separated...the day when the Islands were destroyed by the Heartless...

* * *

_Flash-Back: Two years ago..._

_After a long day of getting supplies for their and Riku's adventure to sail out across the ocean to other worlds, Sora and Kairi sat together on the edge of the docks, watching the sun set which reflected onto the water. It was something that they were admittedly going to miss for a while, but their adventure tomorrow was going to be worth it._

_"You know, Riku has changed." Kairi spoke up._

_"What do you mean?" Sora asked, puzzled._

_"Well...hmmm..." The red haired girl trailed off and grew silent._

_"You okay?"_

_After a few moments, Kairi then smiled brightly and suggested excitedly. "Sora, let's take the raft and go—just the two of us!"_

_"Huh?" The spiky haired boy's eyes widened in disbelief. Where'd that come from?_

_"Just kidding!" Kairi giggled, teasingly._

_Finding himself a bit relieved that it was a joke, even though part of him was disappointed and he had no idea why, Sora asked his friend with a chuckle. "What's gotten into you? You're the one that's changed, Kairi."_

_"Maybe." Kairi replied, and after another brief silence, she admitted. "You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here."_

_She turned to him and asked, hoping for some reassurance. "Right?"_

_"Yeah, of course." Sora reassured her with a smile. As part of their world travel, Sora, Kairi and Riku all agreed that they would all come back home after their adventure._

_"That's good." Kairi smiled, relieved. She then stood up, telling him. "Sora, don't ever change."_

_"Huh?" Sora looked up at her, puzzled._

_"I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great." She said as she gazed at the horizon and Sora followed it..._

* * *

End Flash-Back;

"Sora?"

"Huh?" Sora blinked, brought out of his own memory, and turned to see that Goofy who'd spoken, and Donald having stood up and were not looking at him, confused and concerned. "What?"

"Are you okay?" Goofy asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry." The spiky haired teen reassured.

"Did you see another memory of Ven or Roxas?" Donald asked, curiously.

Sora shook his head. "No. I was just thinking about the day when me and Kairi were watching the sunset, a few hours before the two of us and Riku got separated. The sunlight here just reminded me of that day."

"What were ya's talkin' about?" Goofy asked, curiously.

"Just talking about how the two of us and Riku would travel the worlds on the raft, and that Kairi couldn't wait to set sail and that no matter where we went, we'd always get back home." Sora explained fondly, with a small smile on his lips.

While both Donald and Goofy found this story to be sweet, they couldn't help but think that there was more to it than what Sora was telling them. Especially since how close Sora was with Kairi...in more ways than just one.

"Are you sure that's all you were talking about?" Donald asked teasingly, gently elbowing Sora on the thigh with a smug grin.

"What's that s'posed to mean?" Sora asked, skeptically.

"A-yhuck! It's okay, Sora. We won't tell anybody your secret." Goofy chuckled, adding on with the joke.

"What secret?"

"Oh, come on. Don't tell us you won't admit it?" Donald snickered.

It wasn't until Sora realized what they meant and found his face turn bright red in embarrassment, feeling the warmth on his cheeks as he stuttered. "H-hey! I'm not hiding anything!"

Sora groaned when Donald and Goofy began to laugh even though he couldn't help but smile as well. But still...as much as he teased others about their romance, like Meg and Hercules for example, in truth, Sora had no idea what love really was.

Or so he thought.

* * *

_Xion was sitting at the end of the table in the white room with Naminé on the other side within the Mansion, with the latter's drawings all around them. Some of Sora, Riku and Kairi, others with Roxas, Axel and Xion herself._

_"...I'm ready. Otherwise I wouldn't be here. I also know that Roxas should be going back with me." Xion was saying, her voice full of tears and resignation. "But...I don't think he would understand. Not yet."_

_"I know." Naminé nodded in agreement with sadness of her own. "Roxas can't feel Sora just yet..."_

_"Naminé, will you please watch over Roxas once I'm gone? You won't be_

_alone. I asked someone else, too. There just isn't anything else I can do." Xion requested, as she was finding this hard and harder, but she knew...she had to do this._

_"All right." Naminé nodded._

_"Thank you."_

* * *

Sora softly gasped, sitting up as he awoke from another dream. He'd been lying on the grass after he, Donald and Goofy muturally agreed to make camp for the night as the sun had gone down and they still haven't found Rapunzel and Flynn, and knew that the two of them would make camp of their own and were hopefully close by.

But Sora hadn't expected to see...Xion's memory this time as he realized. But...why did he see Xion's memory this time? Even though Sora still couldn't figure out why he saw Ventus, Terra and Aqua's memories either, it was still...odd, and yet somehow close. Much closer than he thought.

'_Xion...she disappeared?_' Sora thought to himself, feeling his chest ache at the thought. The poor girl mysteriously vanished, and she counted on Naminé to take care of Roxas who'd ended up returning to Sora. But, why was Xion connected to all of this?

"Roxas...Are you seeing these memories too?" Sora softly whispered to himself. "Do you...know what really happened to Xion? Is it because of me?"

It must've been, now that he thought about it. When King Mickey and Riku told him that Roxas had be captured in order to awaken him under the request of Ansem the Wise who'd wanted revenge against Organization XIII, Sora had been angry and upset, having pointed out that it wasn't fair for Roxas to have been forcefully returned to where he came from just for his sake. Even now it still wasn't.

Even though how or why Xion was involved was still unclear, Sora felt another guilt rise. Roxas and Xion were gone...because of Sora.

"...I'm sorry. It isn't fair...for either of you or Naminé." He whispered. Why did everyone he either cared about like Riku or those he never met had to have their lives ruined just to keep Sora himself safe?

Maybe it's because he's destined to save the Realm of Light. Yen Sid did say that the key to defeating Xehanort was Sora himself, and at the same time, he is the one to save those lost or ceased to be. Thus he had to find the Key to Return Hearts.

Nodding to himself, Sora knew that he had to keep on going on his quest; as soon as he found that Keyblade and saved Aqua, Terra and Ventus, Sora was going to find and rescue Xion, and figure out how to restore both Roxas and Naminé.

But first...he had to keep Rapunzel and Flynn safe.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that I didn't put in Rapunzel's healing powers on Flynn for the first time. Yet the next chapter could very well be the last of the Tangled Arc. I also changed things a bit in this world from the game of Sora's group with Rapunzel and Flynn in the canyon rather than meeting Gothel, as you all noticed.**

**See you later!**


	21. Chapter 20: Power of the Flower

**A/N: Sorry if the Tangled Arc was more like a rehash from the game, but I have said that this story is mostly based on the game with some changes here and there. I'll say it now to give everyone a heads up when it finally comes; the Keyblade Graveyard much later in the story will play out somewhat the same but differently, but that's all I'm saying.**

**Same with the Frozen Arc when we get around to it(though Arendalle won't be the next Disney World in the next chapter). Anywho, this could very likely be thte last chapter of the Tangled Arc, so let's get to it!**

**Please note that I still suck at battle scenes, sorry.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 20: Power of the Flower.

Despite his attempts to get back to sleep, Sora found that he hardly got any sleep at all after seeing a memory of Xion and Naminé that concerned to just before Roxas merging with him. He'd end up thinking about it before he finally dozed off for maybe an hour or two, three if he was lucky. But he woke up somehow refreshed despite the lack of sleep, and was staring absently at the now burnt out campfire, as the sun rose up.

Close by were Donald and Goofy who'd piled up onto each other in an awkward position, snoring away while peacefully asleep, until the sunlight hit their faces slightly that stirred them awake. Goofy clumsily climbed off of Donald who once the weight was off, yawned and stretched, as did Goofy. This got Sora's attention as he turned to see his friends.

"Good mornin'." Goofy yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"Morning." Sora greeted with a small wave, before turning back to the campfire, lost in thought. When they turned to gaze at him, the duo saw that he wasn't all that cheerful this morning, which not only fully woke them up to awareness, but also concerned them once more.

"Sora? What's wrong?" Donald asked, concerned.

"Ya' couldn't sleep?" Goofy guessed.

"Oh, um...Yeah." Sora nodded distractedly. He knew he should pay attention and now that they were all awake and could use some breakfest of whatever fruit they can find, they should get back to finding Rapunzel and Flynn and continue on to the Kingdom. "I'm okay, though. Really."

"Are ya' sure?"

"Yeah...it's just-" Sora sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Wh-wh-whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." A familiar voice cried out from the distance that inadvertly cut Sora off and alerted him and his friends. "Easy boy, easy! Settle down. Whoa, whoa!"

"That voice!" Sora exclaimed as he, Donald and Goofy stood up.

"It's Rapunzel!" Goofy cried out.

Quickly putting out the rest of the campfire and deciding to find some fruit a bit later, Sora, Donald and Goofy quickly raced through the woods to follow the source of the voice, while wondering what was going on.

* * *

Not to far from them, Rapunzel, Pascal and Flynn were once again at the mercy of Maximus who found them, soaking wet and now alone with every intention of getting Flynn. But Rapunzel was attempting to get the horse to settle down. Pascal stood on her head and silently gestured him to sit.

Grumbling, Maximus slowly obeyed and sat.

"Oh, you are such a good boy!" Rapunzel cooed, rubbing Maximus on the nose which almost instantly made the horse wag his tail like a dog, liking the affection from the human girl she was giving him already. "Yes you are! Are you tired from chasing this bad man all over the place?"

"Excuse me?" Flynn asked, feeling a bit insulted, but was ignored as Rapunzel was continuing to coo Maximus who, already liking her and nodded in sadness.

"No one appreciates you, do they? Do they?" She continued as she was hugging Maximus who whined in agreement.

"Oh, come on. He's a bad horse!" Flynn protested, unable to believe what he was seeing after nearly being clobbered by the horse that'd been chasing him for days. He was sitting on the ground as he witnessed the performance.

"Ohhh. He's nothing but a big sweetheart." Rapunzel pointed out, returning her attention to the horse. "Isn't that right...Maximus?" Her eyes trailed down to the royal harness and saw Maximus's name.

'_Maximus? Now she's naming the horse?_' Flynn thought in disbelief. "Wha? You've got be kidding me." He groaned aloud, only to flinch when Maximus growled at him with a glare, only to be held back by Rapunzel.

"Look, today is kind of the biggest day of my life, and the thing is, I need you not to get him arrested." She sighed and explained with a pleading and hopeful look in her eyes. "Just for twenty-four hours, and then you can chase each other to your heart's content. Okay?..."

Flynn, in relief even though he was mentally grumbling at the deal Rapunzel was making with the horse, stood up and held out a hand for a truce. Maximus looked at him before looking away with a look that said, 'No way'. Why would he want to do that? Sure the long-haired lady was very nice, but still...

"And it's also my birthday. Just so you know." Rapunzel added.

Hearing this made Maximus torn, before he felt guilty for ruining a girl's birthday which even he knew was a special day and he didn't want to spoil it. Even if it meant agreeing to not arrest the thief for a whole day. So he sighed and grudgingly held out his hoof, allowing the man to shake it. This was going to be a long day. He just knew it.

"Rapunzel!" Sora's voice called out.

At the sound of her name, Rapunzel, Flynn, Pascal and Maximus looked up to see Sora, Donald and Goofy run up to them. While Rapunzel smiled in relief as she approached the trio and even Flynn held a relieved look, Maximus off-handedly(or should I say off-hoovely) punched the man in the stomach with a hoof. Flynn wheezed at the unexpected punch fell backwards in pain, while the horse smirked in amusement. Just because they called it a truce, doesn't meant he can't have a bit of fun behind Rapunzel's back.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy! I knew you were okay." Rapunzel greeted happily. "I was worried that you drowned."

"We were worried about ya's too." Goofy replied.

"And look! I made a friend." Rapunzel gestured to the horse who gazed at the three guys who helped Flynn yesterday. "Meet Maximus."

'_Oh...Not him._' Donald mentally groaned, recognizing the horse from the canyon.

"This is Sora, Donald and Goofy." Rapunzel told Maximus who leaned up close to the trio who leaned back, startled. "I know about what happened yesterday, but they've been helping me."

Maximas blinked in surprise and stared at Sora, Donald and Goofy. So that's why they were with Flynn; they were really helping Rapunzel. Well, that explained everything, he thought. Relaxing now despite what happened, the horse gave the trio a friendly smile, which they returned even though Donald was a bit reluctant.

"Hey there, Maximus." Sora greeted as he and Goofy gave the horse a friendly wave.

"Come on." Flynn told the group, still sore from the punch but managed to stand up. "The Kingdom's not far."

Despite the weirded looks from the others, the reunited group, now joined by Maximus, all continued onward towards the Kingdom, much closer now in making Rapunzel's wish finally come true.

* * *

It wasn't long before they finally reached the exit of the forest and stood by the beach of a large river, and up the path lead towards the bridge into the amazing Kingdom itself. Rapunzel thanked Sora and the others for helping her making it this far, and that she knew that the outside world would be filled with wonderful things.

As soon as they reached the kingdom's gates, Rapunzel was utterly enthusiastic that she gazed around her new surroundings, and even the people didn't seem as scary as she thought. They all seemed nice, just like her friends. Flynn and Maximus followed her with smiles, with Sora, Donald and Goofy behind them as they stopped, witnessing the blonde-haired girl.

"Rapunzel sure looks happy." Sora remarked with a smile. He knew what it was like to see new places he'd never seen before, and even now he was still amazed at his new surroundings. For now, though, Rapunzel's happiness was pure.

"She sure does." Donald agreed.

"Well, her dream's gonna come true." Goofy pointed out. "They're sendin' the lanterns up after dark."

"Cool!" Sora exclaimed in awe. "We don't wanna miss that!"

Donald and Goofy both nodded in agreement, as they and Sora then hurried into the kingdom, greeting the friendly citizens as they learned that, ironically today was also the missing Princess's Birthday and that every year the King and Queen release the lanterns in hopes that their daughter would come home and that she went missing eighteen years ago. Which confused the trio since Rapunzel has lived her whole life up in the tower which made them think maybe it was just a coincidence.

By the time they caught up with Rapunzel, Flynn and Maximas, Rapunzel's hair was now set up in a braid with flowers in it to make it far easier for her to walk around which she really liked. It wasn't until she noticed that there was a wall mural of the King, the Queen, and, as she and her friends learned earlier, the lost Princess...who as Rapunzel gazed at the baby, looked very identical to her. The same blonde hair, the same green eyes...

'_Why does the lost Princess look like me?_' Rapunzel thought to herself. Seeing the baby in the royals' arms just felt so...right. Like Rapunzel belonged in that portrait, but didn't understand how or why.

Little did she know that there was more to that and herself than she ever knew.

* * *

Later, after a fun day in the kingdom such as dancing which everyone in the town square were praising Rapunzel for her wonderful talent, it was dark as the day was drawing to a close. The group separated and promised to meet up at the Square again and while Maximus wandered off somewhere, Sora, Donald and Goofy waited by the docks which also made a perfect view, and Rapunzel and Flynn were out on a boat for a better clear view, and were talking among themselves while they waited.

Rapunzel sighed, feeling rather nervous which Flynn noticed, because he couldn't help but ask in concern, "You okay?"

"I'm terrified." She admitted as she leaned against the side of the boat.

"Why?" He asked softly.

"I've been looking out of the window for eighteen years, dreaming about what it might feel like when those lights rise in the sky." Rapunzel explained, and that left her feeling both excited and worried. "What if it's not everything that I dreamed it would be?"

"It will be." Flynn reassured her with a small smile.

"And what if it is?" She asked, glancing at him. "What do I do then?"

She had thought about it. Now that Rapunzel was finally having her dream come true, she couldn't but wonder what else she would do with her life after that. She did make a promise to return to the tower, but the more time she spend outside, the more she felt torn. The world was not as terrible as Gothel made it out to be. On top of that, she still felt the unusual pangs since she spotted the picture that almost felt like...like she belonged here in this Kingdom.

"Well, that's the good part, I guess." Flynn shrugged, and when Rapunzel looked at him curiously, he added. "You get to go find a new dream."

Find a new dream...those words echoed in Rapunzel's mind. Somehow, even though she'd only just met him earlier yesterday, he actually made her feel better. Despite his reputation as a thief, he'd been nothing but charming and protective but not overly protective, encouraging and sweet and kind...it made her heart warm up and the more time she'd spent with him, the more she really grew to like him as a friend...maybe even more.

Then, on cue as the two of them looked out towards the Castle once more, there were the first signs of the lanterns rising up into the sky. Rapunzel's eyes widened as the lanterns appeared from behind the castle, and soon more and more appeared, and were floating into their direction, surrounding them in the most beautiful sight Rapunzel has ever seen. To be up this close was like she was flying in the air. She then blinked when Flynn held out two more lanterns, and then realized what he had in mind.

"I have something for you too." Rapunzel said, and to Flynn's surprise and shock, it was the satchel which Gothel had secretly given her the night before with a warning, but the young blonde-haired girl decided to give it back to him now. "I should have given it to you before, but I was just scared. And the thing is, I'm not scared anymore. You know what I mean?"

Flynn couldn't believe it. Rapunzel had actually kept to her word. Yet, as he gazed at it, he realized that it was wrong to simply take it and run off. He wasn't sure why, but the more time he spent with her, the more he really came to like her, especially since he admitted the truth about himself, and his past earlier. In fact, he was pretty sure that Rapunzel somehow changed him...for the better.

"I'm starting to..." He replied, gently pushing the bag aside.

The two of them shared another smile before living the two lanterns and releasing them into the air to join the rest. It was then that Flynn knew what he had to do, because one way or another, he'd decided he wanted to spend more time with Rapunzel than take off with the tiara.

Because, as he realized, he'd fallen in love with her.

Unfortunately, little did both of them know that Gothel was creeping closer and that they would be separated...despite that Rapunzel would soon know the truth of her past.

* * *

The Stabbington Brothers, having survived their ordeal with the flooded canyon, were just about to approach the area where they knew they would find the satchel and Flynn, when all of the sudden they found themselves surrounded by Heartless and Nobodies, much to their shock. They brought out their swords, preparing to fight.

"You will not be needing those."

Flinching in fright, the two men turned around and saw Marluxia with his large scythe in hand and a dangerous smirk and look in his eyes. "I'm afraid I cannot let you near the ones I seek."

Before the Stabbington Brothers could demand what he meant, Marluxia swiped his weapon to create a huge gust of wind which blew them backwards as they screamed in alarm, dropping their swords in the process and crashing into the crowd of the monsters who soon engulfed the two men. They tried to fight the monsters off, but there were too many of them and as Marluxia watched on in satisfaction, the Stabbington Brothers were soon clawed and swiped to their deaths which caused them to sink into the growing darkness...and their hearts consumed by the Heartless.

"Now then, to take back the Princess to where she belongs for eternty." The pink haired man muttered as he soon teleported away for the next phase of his mission.

* * *

Meanwhile at the docks, Sora, Donald and Goofy were sitting on the platform as they watched the lanterns fly by in awe. The few from here was perfect and they couldn't help but wish that it would last forever.

But as Sora thought how cool this was, suddenly he felt again the same jolting feeling as he felt before, which vaguely made him realize that he was about to witness yet another memory that wasn't his...though at first he wasn't sure who it was, but soon it showed him...

* * *

_Ven and Aqua were sitting on the edge of a ledge at a night clear sky in a mountain area. Gazing at the stars before Ven turned to his older friend and asked, "Y'ever wonder what stars are? Where light comes from?"_

_"Hmm...well, they say-" Aqua began after thinking about how to answer her friend's question._

_"That every star up there is another world." Another voice answered for her, causing both Aqua and Ven to look behind them and saw that Terra stood there, with Aqua acknowleding him before he continued. "Yep, hard to believe there are so many worlds out there besides our own."_

_He continued as he approached his friends with Ven turning fully towards him. "The light is their hearts, and it's shining down on us like a million lanterns."_

_"What?" Ven blinked, puzzled. "I don't get it."_

_"In other words, they're just like you, Ven." Terra replied._

_"What does THAT mean?" Ven asked as he stood up and approached him._

_"You'll find out someday, I'm sure."_

_"I wanna know now."_

_"You're too young to know now."_

_Ven made a face and pouted. "Quit treating me like a kid!"_

_Their not-so-bickering only made Aqua smile before she ended up laughing, which made the two boys to glance at her questionly._

_"Hey, what are you laughing at?" Terra demanded._

_"I can't help it." Aqua giggled. "You two would make the weirdest brothers."_

_That only made Ven and Terra look at her dumbfounded with slightly shocked expressions as though she'd gone crazy. But Aqua's laughter was contagious and the two of them couldn't help but join in the laughter..._

* * *

Sora blinked as Ven's memory ended once again, before gazing more closely at the lanterns that began to disappear into the distance. As he did, he thought about what Terra told Ven from twelve years ago. They shone down at everyone, like real stars did...stars that represented both worlds and people.

'_The light is their hearts...shining down on us like these lanterns..._' Sora thought to himself. Could that really be true? For some reason, he felt the different pang in his chest...just like when Riku and Mickey told the bad news of what happened to Aqua in Yen Sid's tower.

Unfortunately, Sora was brought out of his musings as were both Donald and Goofy when they heard and sensed unwanted company. Alarmed and standing up while turning, to their irritation were the same kind of Nobodies they fought yesterday.

"Could you guys have possibly picked a worse time?" Sora groaned in annoyance. Why do Heartless and/or Nobodies always appear at the wrong place and wrong time?

"I don't think they appreciate the moment, Sora." Goofy pointed out, even though he felt the same as his friend did and Donald muttered an agreement, twice as annoyed that their peaceful sight-seeing was now ruined.

Seeing how they had to fight, Sora nodded and summoned his Keyblade as he declared. "It's time for these wet blankets to go!"

Donald and Goofy agreed and summoned their weapons. The trio quickly fought off the Nobodies which told them that Organization XIII were back, which meant heaps of trouble. Sora and his friends finished off the monsters with Sora again using his Wisdom form to make quick work before he and his friends hurried to find out where they were coming from.

* * *

They saw no sign of Flynn or Maximus, but as they reached the shores of the path where they came from earlier, to their shock, was Rapunzel who, found by her 'mother' and being told and lied to about Flynn leaving her behind and having escaped Marluxia and the Nobodies, were walking away back into the woods, back towards the tower.

"Hey, isn't that Rapunzel?" Sora asked, recognizing the girl but didn't recognize the woman that was taking her away. Could she be Rapunzel's mother? But...Gothel didn't look like Rapunzel's mother. Seeing how they were walking off, he cried out for the teenage girl to wait, only to be forced to stop in his tracks when someone suddenly appeared in front of him, Donald and Goofy.

"Show some decorum." Marluxia scolded as he appeared from the darkness, blocking their path.

"You again!" Donald snapped angrily, as Sora grunted the Nobody's name.

"That girl has found her dear mother. You should let them go." He continued, ignoring them.

"And why is that?" Sora demanded suspiciously.

"Because Rapunzel is far too important. Atop of her tower, she must remain out of sight, and live our her days with Mother Gothel." Marluxia explained darkly.

"And never see anyone else?" Goofy asked in disbelief.

Sora couldn't believe what he and his friends were hearing. Rapunzel has to be left alone with Gothel for the rest of her live with no access to the outside world? To live out her live the way she wants to?

"But that's like...locking her in some prison!" Sora protested angrily.

Marluxia smirked. "That is exactly what it's like. Rapunzel's hair holds the powerful magic of healing. And yes, Gothel wants it for herself. As do others. And, if Gothel's actions will protect Rapunzel, preserve her...then she is going the Organization a favor."

Rapunzel's hair...was magical? With the strong power of healing? Was that why Rapunzel's hair was that important? But then that meant that Gothel was not her mother at all, but she wanted that power for herself as the pieces of the puzzle Sora, Donald and Goofy thought of earlier and Rapunzel mentioning it, the missing Princess, the lanterns and everything started to be placed together that they came to a realization.

"Then that means..." Donald muttered in shock.

"Rapunzel is the lost princess." Goofy finished in disbelief.

"So Gothel kidnapped her and lied to her the whole time." Sora whispered, then thought about what else Marluxia said and asked. "What favor?"

"Let's say she's keeping Rapunzel on the shelf for us. An extra pawn in case you fail to find the remaining guardians of light. And we have occasion to call on other hearts of light instead. A Seven New Hearts to fill out the ranks." The pink-haired man explained.

"New Seven Lights?" Sora repeated in confusion.

"Yes. Seven who inherited the Princesses' light after their role was fufilled." Marluxia answered.

So the Organization were not after the Princesses of Hearts anymore, despite that Kairi was still at risk because not only she's a Princess of Heart, but also...one of the Guardians of Light which Xehanort wants along with the other six lights of the Guardians. Sora could've sworn his heart froze when he came to realization; Princesses or no Princesses, Xehanort could forge the X-Blade whether it was the Princesses of Heart or the hearts of the Guardians of light; Kairi, Sora himself, Riku, King Mickey, Lea, Ventus, Aqua, and/or Terra.

But now...Organization XIII has found another route; to capture new random girls with hearts full of pure light in case Sora and his friends don't restore Aqua or awaken Ven or even find Terra, and Rapunzel was one of the new victims. And that made him angry.

"I knew it! You are one of the dark horrors that's hunting her. You guys just want Rapunzel for your own purposes!" Sora growled angrily, quickly holding a tight grip on his Keyblade as he knew that they had to fight. "Well, you're done here!"

"Hmph. I just knew you would go and make a scene." Marluxia scoffed, not surprised. "Very well, then it's lights out for you."

Before anyone could think of what he is doing, Marluxia held out his hand and sent out some kind of gust of wind which hit Sora in the face. Upon impact, Sora suddenly felt drowsy and overwhelmingly sleepy. He tried hard to stay awake, but it was a losing battle. He dropped his Keyblade unconsciously as it dismissed itself before he began to collapse, much to the horror of Donald and Goofy who raced over, calling out his name. But then Marluxia used the same kind of sleeping wind on them and despite screaming and trying to shield themselves, Donald and Goofy felt the same drowsiness as their friend.

"You were always such a sound sleeper..." That was the last thing Sora heard Marluxia say before he lost consciousness even before he and his friends hit the ground.

* * *

Hours later back in the tower as Rapunzel had been shaken by the ordeal no sooner than had Flynn left her on the shores, she was now in her bedroom, her hair unraveled and had been thinking for a long while. She still couldn't shake off the feeling of what she discovered in the Kingdom earlier. She had also been handed a piece of cloth with the symbol of the sun drop, which according to the townsfolk, was a magical flower that saved the pregnant queen who given birth to the princess.

As Rapunzel stared it, she then looked up at the ceiling, and, to her shock, discovered that her paintings matched that of the symbol that she drew over her life. Sitting up, her eyes widened as she realized the meaning of it; she subconsciously drew the very same symbol, and remembering putting on the tiara when she discovered it after knocking out Flynn, and somehow it just felt...right.

Finally she remembered the painting of the baby...and as Rapunzel stood up for a better look, she felt dizzy and utterly overwhelmed that she stumbled back and accidently crashed into her dresser and mirror.

It made perfect sense now. Which meant another shocking and devastating truth. Feeling like she's going to be sick, Rapunzel stumbled out of her room, standing in the doorway, where Gothel, having heard the crash and called out her name, stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"Rapunzel? Are you alright?" Gothel asked, as though she was concerned.

"I'm the lost princess." Rapunzel whispered breathlessly, more to herself than the woman she originally thought was her mother.

Not understanding a word she said, Gothel looked exasperated and said. "Please speak up, Rapunzel. You know how I hate the mumbling."

"I am the lost princess!" Rapunzel spoke louder this time, and in a tone of anger and betrayal, to which Gothel looked at her quizzly. "Aren't I?

A pause.

"Did I mumble, Mother?" Rapunzel questioned, adding with the betrayal as she soon realized the truth. "Or should I even call you that?"

'_What? No...she's has discovered the truth..._' Gothel thought to herself, mentally panicking. If Rapunzel discovered the truth, then it's going to make things more difficult from now on. So in order to try and make the girl not fully accept it, she regained her composure and walked up the stairs towards her, saying. "Oh, Rapunzel, do you even hear yourself? Why would ask such a ridiculous question?"

But as she reached out, Rapunzel pushed her back and backed away in a mixture of fear and anger, snapping at the woman who she now realized had kidnapped her since the day she was just born, and had lied to her for her entire life, all because of her hair. "It was you! It was all you!"

"Everything I did was to protect you." Gothel responded coldly, only to be shoved aside by Rapunzel who decended down the stairs, ignoring her even as she called out to her.

"I've spent my entire life hiding from people who would use me for my power-" Rapunzel began.

"Rapunzel!"

"-when I should have been hiding from YOU!" Rapunzel finished as she reached the bottom, glaring at the woman who was the cause of everything that has happened. The true ruffian and thief who locked her away because of her hair. Yes, the hair part was true, but everything else, the love they shared, the outside world, everything, had all been lies.

And if Rapunzel didn't know any better, Gothel and that man Marluxia must have done something to Flynn, separating her from him as well as Sora, Donald and Goofy. She had to leave, she had to find them. Find Flynn-Eugene, as he told her his real name almost two days ago-and make sure he was okay. He showed her the truth of the outside world, protected her, been friends with her as they traveled, gave her real assurance.

"Where will you go?" Gothel questioned as she followed Rapunzel, and as though reading her thoughts, stated darkly. "He won't be there for you."

"What did you do to him?" The newly-discovered Princess demanded.

Gothel stood tall and informed her with no regret what so ever. "That criminal is to be hanged for his crimes."

"No..." Rapunzel froze up. Eugene...is hanged? That means he's...dead!? It can't be...! Her heart began to break at the coldness. The man who freed her, that she had liked-no, that she had fallen in love with-was gone.

"Now, now. It's alright." Gothel reassured her, circling the frozen Rapunzel who turned to face her. "Listen to me. All of this is as it should be."

But as she attempted to pat Rapunzel on the head, the younger woman grabbed her by the wrist, holding it there to stop her despite Gothel's struggling as the older woman was growing shocked and horrified at her 'daughter's' unexpected strength that she never knew the girl she'd kidnapped ever had. Could it be the power of the Sundrop that was within her hair?

"NO! You were wrong about the world. And you were wrong about me! And I will NEVER let you use my hair AGAIN!" Rapunzel shouted, while for Gothel to break free, but she stumbled back so hard that the older woman accidentally bumped into the mirror which dropped from the wall and shattered into pieces, much to her shock.

While Rapunzel was somewhat shocked by her own unexpected strength, she gave her fake mother one final look before turning and began to walk away, to leave and return to the Kingdom where she truly belonged. She may have lost Eugene, but she was going back to inform everyone that she is their lost Princess, to reunite with her real parents.

But Gothel, who growled in anger which because of her greed for the power of the hair seeped so deep that darkness soon clouded her heart and briefly formed around her before disappearing, would not let that happen.

"You want me to be the bad guy? Fine." She hissed as she advanced on Rapunzel threateningly, knowing that there was only one thing left to do in order to keep that power to her self for all eternity. "Now I'm the bad guy."

But neither knew that rescue was coming for Rapunzel and that Eugene wasn't as dead as Gothel had claimed.

* * *

Back just outside of the Kingdom, Tifa, who had just arrived in this world in her search for Cloud, was walking along the shores as she felt disappointed in still being unable to find him. But as she began to approach the woods, she noticed something just on the ground.

When she got a closer look, she gasped as she recognized the three figures of Sora, Donald and Goofy, who were still unconscious due to Marluxia's spell.

"Them!?" She softly gasped, before hurrying over to see that they were okay. Tifa was on her hands and knees as she called out to them. "Hey! Are you alright? Sora? Donald? Goofy?"

No response. Tifa then laid them on their backs and tried shaking them, but still they wouldn't wake up. This made her sigh in frustration as this didn't help either. Coming up with another idea, she pulled out three healing potions and used them to heal up the trio. This did the trick, because Sora gave a tired moan before he blinked his eyes open, still dazed and a bit disorientated.

"Are you okay?" Tifa asked, relieve when she saw Sora, and seconds later, Donald and Goofy wake up.

"...Tifa?" Sora groggily asked, sitting as he recognized the woman he and his friends met a few times in Hollow Bastion. First when she asked for someone, and how strong she was which made Sora, Donald and Goofy wiry about her, then when she lifted the heavy portrait of Xehanort, then when she actually helped out in defeating the horde of Heartless, and then when she arrived offering some of her light to Cloud after briefly fighting Sephiroth. She had since then left to continue her search for Cloud.

Who wasn't here given she was on her own. Donald gave out a yawn while Goofy rubbed the back of his head. They then noticed Sora and then remembered what happened, standing up and approached him worriedly.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed, to which Sora saw them, but was still confused at the moment.

"How did I end up..." Sora began, holding a hand to his face, until almost instantly his memories returned and he gasped. "Oh no! Rapunzel!"

"Wak! Hey, where's Marluxia?" Donald exclaimed as he and Goofy quickly realized the situation.

"Looks like he put us to sleep and then ran away again." Goofy muttered.

"What happened? Who are Rapunzel and Marluxia?" Tifa asked, as she, Donald and Goofy, who were both surprised to see her again as well, helped Sora stand up.

"Rapunzel's a friend, but she's in trouble!" Sora quickly explained.

"And Marluxia's a bad guy who put us to sleep." Goofy added.

"I guess that explains why you three were unresponsive at first, before I healed you with potions." Tifa thought in realization.

That surprised Sora, Donald and Goofy who shared a glance, realizing that it was Tifa who had woken them up by healing them. They gazed back at the martial artist who still gave them a bit of creeps, with Sora saying. "Really? Well, thanks, Tifa."

Tifa nodded with a soft smile, just as she and the boys heard a horse's neigh, and looked into the direction of the bridge where they saw Maximus running up towards them, with to the trio's surprise and relief, was Flynn riding on his back.

"Whoa, Max! Whoa, boy!" Flynn had Maximus stop upon seeing the group.

"Flynn!" Sora, Donald and Goofy greeted in relief.

"Flynn! Rapunzel's being held prisoner!" Sora told him urgently.

"I know." Flynn nodded, as after attempting to return the tiara to the kingdom, he'd ended up captured by Marluxia and arrested. But was thanks to Maximus who, seeing that Flynn was a good man after all, helped him escape after they both learned what was happening to Rapunzel. "In her mother's tower. This calls for a rescue."

He then held out a hand to Sora, asking, "Are you with me?"

Realizing that Flynn was requesting for their help to rescue Rapunzel, Sora nodded and grasped it as he replied, "Yeah."

After briefly introducing Tifa who decided she wanted to help as well, and also briefly explaining that she is looking for her friend Cloud, Sora was pulled up behind Flynn, then Goofy and Donald climbed on board, and despite not having that much room, Tifa did the same, a bit awkwardly. Though the extra weight from the four new passengers made Maximus being to sink to the ground and his legs spreading apart slightly.

"...I knew the five of us were too heavy for him." Tifa sighed, though she tried not to giggle at the ridiculous situation they were all in.

But Maximus, determined to rescue Rapunzel as well, forced himself upright and ignored the heavy weight of the group and at Flynn's signal, the horse rode off into the woods with Flynn, Sora, Donald, Goofy and Tifa on his back, as fast as he could.

* * *

Just as the group were nearing the secret passage to the tower, Maximus was forced to stop when more Nobodies appeared, blocking their path. Knowing what has to be done, Sora, Donald, Goofy and even Tifa shared a determined nod before the four of them hopped off, and the travel trio summoned their weapons while the female martial artist stood ready.

"We'll take it from here, Flynn. Go help Rapunzel." Sora advised him.

"Thanks." Flynn replied, then gestured Maximus to keep on going. Once the two of them were further ahead, Sora, Donald, Goofy and Tifa quickly fought long and hard to defeat the Nobodies with the combined attacks of Keyblade skills, magic, shield and punches and kicks.

But just as they were about to hurry to help their friends, Sora's group were forced to stop once more as Marluxia appeared, blocking their path with a glaring frown at their direction.

"Out of the way, Marluxia!" Sora ordered, taking a fighting stance once more.

"So this is Marluxia you talked about?" Tifa asked Donald and Goofy who both nodded to comfirm it.

"Rapunzel has discovered the truth of her past. The greed in Gothel's heart has caused her to succumb to darkness. We can't allow her near our pure light now. Her presence would only cast a pall over it." Marluxia spoke darkly.

That shocked the trio. If Gothel had succumbed to the darkness despite that she was unknowingly tasked by the Organization to keep Rapunzel safe, then that meant Rapunzel was in much more grave danger now than ever. Especially from Organization XIII.

"You leave Rapunzel alone!" Donald shouted.

"Yeah, she doesn't belong to you or Gothel or anybody!" Goofy added bravely.

"Rapunzel deserves a life and freedom she longed for, not to be locked away from the world for her whole life! Forcing people to do that would only cast darkness in their hearts because they'd never know the real meaning of seeing the good in other people. You and the Organization only want to use Rapunzel because her powers. Well, guess what, Marluxia? We won't let you hurt her!" Sora declared after explaining what Rapunzel really deserves.

Marluxia could only scoff, as while Sora, Donald and Goofy would never remember, this reminded him of the time when they and the Riku replica attempted to save Namine who had suffered the similar imprisonment because of her powers, and how the Nobody of Kairi soon grew guilty for her actions and would risk her freedom for Sora's safety.

"Fine. If you want to protect her, then you will have to prove it to me!" Marluxia declared, holding a hand up as a flower petal appeared, then took form of his scythe while taking up a fighting stance.

Sora charged and attempted to strike Marluxia, but the Organization member blocked each attacks from the Keyblade Wielder, forcing him back and attempted to slice him in half. Sora though dodged the attack by flipping backwards and landed safely on the ground. He, Donald, Goofy and Tifa then dodged the strong gusts of wind Marluxia sent out, though it did knocked them back a bit but they ignored the minor injuries.

Marluxia then disappeared in particles of petals before reappearing behind Sora and whispered something in his ear which made him quickly jump out of the way before he disappeared again. However, the pink-haired man appeared again in the air as he then waves his arm and a tornado of wind and rose petals that surrounds them while Sora pushed back by the pressure. Tifa attempted to sneak up behind Marluxia and even though it didn't work, Donald quickly cast Firaga on the pink-haired man who winced at the unexpected flames, and grunted in pain when the woman behind him kicked him in the back of the head, sending him stumbling to the side.

Marluxia then attempted to slash at her, but Goofy tossed his Shield at him to distract him. The Nobody quickly blocked the attack with the scythe, sending it back and Goofy screamed when he clumsily caught his shield and nearly fell over. By then Sora and Tifa both use this as an opening and while Sora whacked the pink-haired man in the stomach that caused him to scream in agony, Tifa punched him several times in the chest and face and sky-upper-kicked him in the jaw-line, forcing Marluxia back once more.

However, the enemy had another idea, as he kept on dodging and blocking the group's attacks including Donald's Fireworks spells and then swiped the scythe which unleashed powerful gusts of winds, sending them flying backwards and hitting the ground hard as they screamed. Quickly using Curaga on themselves, Sora, Donald, Goofy and Tifa dodged and blocked more of Marluxia's attacks until Sora had an idea.

"Tifa!" Sora shouted, giving her a look with his eyes which translated on what he had in mind.

"Got it!" The dark-haired woman nodded, taking the hint. She then bend low and then launched herself towards Marluxia who smirked and was about to slice her, when Sora leaped up into the air and tossed his Keyblade down at his head, and before he could even teleport, at Sora's signal, Donald chanted Blizzaga that froze the man's legs on the ground, stopping him and Goofy tossed his shield at the man's side. Both weapons hit him hard.

Tifa then grabbed Marluxia by the collar of the coat and tossed him high into the air, much to his shock. Sora then used his Wisdom Form and blasted light from the Keyblade-Pistols, attacking Marluxia repeatedly while he cried out in pain, unable to escape the attack.

Sora and his friends continued the fight even as Marluxia crashed into the ground and recovered, until the pink-haired man fell onto one knee, panting. Sora, back in his normal form, charged to finish him. He leaped into the air to strike, but Marluxia, sensing this, quickly teleported out of the way, causing Sora to miss and slash the air instead.

"Huh?" He muttered, looking around until he and the other saw their enemy reappear to the side near a tree, glaring at them, but with a smirk.

"Hmph...It seems...you have proven yourself worthy...to protect the light, Sora." Marluxia admittedly praised. "When we meet again, it will be at the fated place."

"I hope you won't cause any more trouble for Rapunzel and Flynn!" Sora grunted, glaring back.

"Heh...Only if you gather the rest of the guardians. It's a pity that skilled woman with you does not count." Marluxia chuckled, before vanishing into darkness and teleporting away to recover.

"Wait, Marluxia!" Sora cried out, but he was too late. He sighed, left wondering what Marluxia was talking about, until he quickly remembered Rapunzel. He turned to his friends and urgently told them, "Let's go! Rapunzel and Flynn need us!"

Tifa, Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement, and the four of them quickly hurried through the secret passage, unaware of what was happening in the tower which would be devastating.

* * *

While the fight outside was going on, Flynn had ended up walking into a trap and was fatally stabbed by Gothel who forcefully drag a tied up Rapunzel who, despite threatening to always fight, offered her life and freedom to her in order to at least allow her to heal Flynn to safe his life. Even though Gothel was skeptical, she seemed satisfied by it and approved before untying the girl and chained the slowly dying man to the wall.

"Everything's gonna be okay." Rapunzel whispered, placing her hair onto Flynn's wound.

"No, Rapunzel." Flynn wheezed weakly.

"I promise. You have to trust me."

"No...I can't let you do this."

"And I can't let you die." Rapunzel pointed out tearfully.

"But if you do this...then you will die." Flynn replied.

Rapunzel smiled tearfully at him, stating. "Hey, it's going to be all right."

She was about to start singing her healing song, when Flynn told her to wait, and as Rapunzel looked at him, he caressed her hair and at first it seemed like they were about to kiss a tearful goodbye, what she and Gothel didn't expect was Flynn picking a broken piece of glass and with the last of his strength, sliced through her hair and cutting it away, leaving behind a short part of it and the rest of it falling, much to their horror.

"E-Eugene!?" Rapunzel gasped, as her now former blonde hair turned brown. She couldn't believe the man she loved had just sacrificed his life...and destroyed her power, for her freedom.

"NO!" Gothel screamed in horror and panic as the rest of Rapunzel's cut hair rapidly turned brown, even as she tried to scoop it up into her arms in a futile attempt to save it. "Oh, no. No! What have you done? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

That wasn't the only thing that was rapidly changing. Because she had a connection with Rapunzel's hair, Gothel's skin quickly turned as pale as a ghost, as wrinkly that would put Yzma's wrinkles to shame, her hair pure white. Quickly scanning for the mirror, she shrieked louder in horror as she saw her aging appearance, horror increasing as she donned on her cloak and pulled up her hood to hide her true age.

Unfortunately for her, Pascal, who'd been knocked out for a bit and recovered, used the remains of Rapunzel's cut hair as a tight rope and pulled hard, which caused Gothel to blindly trip onto and stumble out of the window where she screamed and fell, only to turn into dust and then nothing, leaving behind nothing but her cloak...just as Sora, Donald, Goofy and Tifa reached the bottom of the tower just in time to see the material land on the ground.

"Wasn't that...?" Sora began, then gasped as he, Donald, Goofy and Tifa then sensed that something went horribly wrong. The four of them shared a worried glance before they quickly began to climb up the tower despite that it was difficult.

Inside the tower, Rapunzel was devastated as she couldn't believe that this happened.

"No! Look at me! Look at me, I'm right here. Don't go! Stay with me, Eugene!" She tearfully pleaded. She placed his hand which was going all cold onto her head with the last remains of her now short hair, and began to sing in a futile attempts to use her healing powers to save him. "_Flower gleam and glow...Let your power shine...Make the clock reverse, Bring back what once was mine..._"

"Rapunzel!" Flynn wheezed to get her attention.

"What?" Rapunzel tearfully asked, as behind her, Sora heaved himself up and leaned on the window sill, followed by Donald, Goofy and Tifa, only for all four of them to see, to their horror and devastation, that they were too late. While Rapunzel was safe, her hair was cut short, her healing powers were gone, and Flynn...was wounded and dying.

"You were...my new dream." Flynn told her in his dying breath.

Rapunzel tried hard not to cry, but those words alone told her that he loved her, and so she replied back, declaring her own love. "And you were mine."

Flynn managed to smile in response before took his final breath and then went limp in Rapunzel's arms. Rapunzel's eyes began to swell in tears as she cried and hugged the man's body. Behind her, Sora silently shed tears on the urge to cry as well, due to the fact that he and the others had just lost a friend. Donald and Goofy held him close, their hearts breaking as well. Tifa placed a hand over her mouth before beginning to softy cry herself. She may not know Rapunzel or Flynn, but the mere sight broke her heart.

"_Heal what has been hurt... Change the fate's design... Save what has been lost... Bring back what once was mine...What once was mine._" Rapunzel finished her song despite that it would not work, and Flynn was gone.

However, as she began to cry over the loss, her first single tear dropped onto Flynn's face. The next thing that happened as it absorbed itself into his skin, a glimmer of golden light forming on Flynn's side got everyone's attention they looked up to see what was happening. Rapunzel's eyes grew in surprise and awe as did everyone else's. All at once, bright strands of golden light flooded the chamber.

The light then became a shape of a flower over Flynn's body before it vanished. Everyone watched in awe as Flynn's head began to move before his eyes blinked open and he gasped in the air, before looking up at the stunned Rapunzel.

"Rapunzel?" Flynn muttered.

"Eugene?" Rapunzel replied, relief and happiness looming her expression as did everyone else's.

Flynn smiled, saying, "Did I ever tell you I've got a thing for brunettes?"

"Eugene!" Rapunzel cried happily and hugged Eugene as tightly as she could.

Sora, Donald, Goofy and Tifa all smiled happily at the sudden miracle that Flynn was brought back to life. The trio hugged each other happily while Tifa giggled, tears of joy falling from her eyes this time. Against all odds, the last remains of Rapunzel's healing powers had saved Flynn's life, and Gothel was gone.

* * *

Short time later, everyone climbed back down the tower as Rapunzel and Tifa were introduced to each other and the latter explaining her goal in finding Cloud. Maximus was with them and all were smiling.

"Wow, Rapunzel! You're finally gonna get to see your real home." Sora remarked happily.

"I know! I mean...I can't believe it." Rapunzel said excitedly. "I can finally be with my real family! I couldn't have done it without your help."

"You're welcome." Donald replied.

"Well, from where I'm standing, the kingdom couldn't ask for a better princess." Flynn said smiling to Rapunzel who smiled back. He then gestured to Sora, Donald and Goofy, adding, "And I couldn't have asked for better sidekicks! Thanks."

"Yes, thank you so much." Rapunzel added.

Hearing what Flynn had said, though, Tifa couldn't help but ask Sora, Donald and Goofy while giggling, "Sidekicks?"

"It's a long story. A-yhuck." Goofy whispered, which made Tifa giggle even more.

"Yeah, I can see why." She replied.

"Happily ever after." Donald proclaimed to Sora who nodded in agreement.

"Now Flynn." Goofy said to the former thief. "You and Maximus play nice."

This made Flynn and Maximus blink in surprise, then smiled and the former replied, "Fine." while holding hands with Rapunzel who held him by the arm.

"You're gonna be great." Sora said, much to their confusion before he explained. "We fought off the guy controlling the monsters, so that's one less worry."

"But there's still a chance that he might come back." Goofy pointed out, knowing that Marluxia could return to continue to target Rapunzel.

Sora placed his hands behind his head, stating. "Well, if he comes back and tries to bother Rapunzel again, then Flynn will keep her safe, and we won't be far behind."

"Come on." Donald scoffed. "Rapunzel's the tough one, if you ask me. Just like Tifa."

"Oh? Are you saying that girls aren't tough?" Tifa teasingly challenged, placing her hands on her hips, which only made Donald gulp nervously, Sora to scratch the side of his face sheepishly and Goofy to hold his hands up in surrender.

"I didn't say that!" Donald protested.

"True. But nevertheless, I won't let her out of my sight." Flynn promised.

"Oh, Eugene." Rapunzel giggled, which made the others confused once more.

"Eugene?" Sora blinked. Why did Rapunzel call Flynn "Eugene"?

Suddenly remembering that Sora and the others didn't know his real name, Flynn-no, Eugene-answered. "Oh! That's my real name. Eugene Fitzherbert. That's right. I never told you guys."

"That's different." Donald admitted.

"I think it's a great name!" Goofy said.

"So do I." Tifa agreed.

"Me too." Sora nodded, then said to Eugene. "Nice to re-meet you, Eugene."

"Hey!" Rapunzel pouted to her lover. "I thought I was the only one you were going to tell."

"Don't worry." Eugene whispered to Rapunzel softly. "I've saved plenty of Fitzherbert-y secrets just for you."

"Really?" Rapunzel whispered back with a smile.

"Hey!" Sora spoke up accusingly, noticing that they were whispering but couldn't hear what they were saying. "What are you two lovebirds talking about?"

"Nothing!" Eugene quickly replied.

"Nothing." Rapunzel replied more calmly.

"Are you sure about that?" Tifa asked, even though she had a feeling that this should be left alone. On the other hand, she was finding herself curious.

When Eugene refused to tell them, Sora had another idea and ordered Maximus with a cheeky grin. "Maximus, get him!"

The horse, suspicious, leaned up close to Eugene's face with a warning glare, causing the man to lean back in fright. Pascal, also getting into the game, leaped from Rapunzel's shoulder and onto Eugene's and licked him in the ear again, much to his discomfort.

"AH!" Eugene shrieked, cringing at the slimy feeling. "You have got to be kidding me!"

This only made everyone laugh.

* * *

After safely guiding Eugene and Rapunzel back to the Kingdom, Sora, Donald and Goofy and Tifa all went back into the woods to scan the woods, they found themselves back at the area for the third time in days, just as Sora felt the familiar warmth inside his chest and like back in the two previous worlds, his heart began to glow in warm light. It was then that he sensed it; the warm feeling close by. Turning to look behind him and his friends, the entire wall of the secret passage entrance began to glow in golden light like the sun and a Keyhole appeared.

His own eyes widening in realization, Sora summoned the Kingdom Key and held it up towards the Keyhole. The beam of light shot out from the Keyblade and straight into the Keyhole which glowed brighter until something began to emerge from it. A glimmer of light that began to form and materalize into a silver-white key much like the ones in Twilight Town and Kuzco Empire, but with a yellow heart-shaped crystal attatched onto it on the top. Glittering in light, it floated down gently before it hovered in front of Sora who carefully picked it up and held it in his hand.

"What's that?" Tifa asked, curious.

"It's a Piece of Light." Goofy realized.

"So it _was_ here. Who'd have thought?" Sora murmured. To think that the third piece to the Key to Return Hearts was here all along, talk about ironic.

"Oh boy! Now we got four more to find!" Donald exclaimed excitedly.

"What're they for?" Tifa asked.

"Well, it's meant to be kept secret, but they're keys to find a way to save those who went missing twelve years ago. There's seven in total." Sora explained.

"Then I guess I shouldn't stop you. If you see Cloud, let him know I'm still looking for him." Tifa nodded her understanding.

"Will do, and if you see him first, tell him we said hi for us, 'kay?" Sora replied with a smile. "And thanks for helping us out, Tifa."

"You helped me out in finding Cloud the first time. I think that makes us even." Tifa said.

Now with the three pieces of light found, Sora, Donald and Goofy bid farewell to Tifa who left to continue her quest to find Cloud, while the trio left behind the Kingdom of Corona to find the remaining four pieces of light to continue their Key to Return Hearts quest.

* * *

**A/N: Thus ends the Tangled Arc! I know this chapter was overly long, and I couldn't fit the other parts of it into this chapter, but they will appear in the next chapter as well as the next Disney World. Though I'm torn between either going back to Riku and Mickey in locating Aqua, or back to Kairi and Lea in the Timeless Realm.**

**Hopefully I'll make my decision by then. See you later!**


	22. Chapter 21: Mystery on Pleasure Island

**A/N: After a few struggles on what to do next, and despite the helpful advise from the Visitor(guest) reviewer, it's kinda complicated since Kairi and Lea's world travel only started whereas the other groups already been through two, three or four worlds. But thanks, anyway. So after thinking, I finally made my decision.**

**So, let's continue onward with the story!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 21: Mystery on Pleasure Island.

Not long after Sora's group left the Kingdom of Corona behind, unaware to them and everyone else, Maleficent and Pete had been searching through this world after leaving Kuzco Empire. But like in the previous worlds they searched through so far, once again they were empty handed and Pete was starting to have his doubts.

"Another world where we got doodly-squat." The large cat grumbled as he and his boss were on a cliff that had a view of the Kingdom itself. "You sure this book thingy's even real?"

"Yes." Maleficent simply replied.

"Yeah, and just how do you know that?" He asked as he looked at her, skeptical about the whole thing. Even now he still wasn't sure where she got the idea of the Book of Prophecies from or how she knew of it's unusual power.

"It is etched." Maleficent responded, turning to walk away.

Pete followed her with his gaze, dumbfounded and not sure what she just said. "...It's what?"

Instead of answering him, Maleficent just summoned a Corridor of Darkness and told him. "Come with me."

"Where to?" Pete shrugged, which made Maleficent pause with a scowling expression. "Those bozos ain't gonna help us. Sora's sure not lookin' for the book. All he's got is those phony keys that appear outta nowhere."

"Those _"keys"_ may not seem important to us, but it is clear that Sora knows a secret in which we do not. If we aqquire those keys as well as the King, perhaps they will be useful in locating the book, along with the secret they seek." Maleficent told him impatiently and didn't say another word as she stepped into the Corridor.

While Pete still didn't understand what Maleficent was saying, the new information did make him begin to realize that she had a good point. Those silver keys had to be a clue, and maybe, just maybe, that King Mickey had hidden them all over the place for Sora's group to find...to find the Book of Prophecies first to outwit them.

'_If that's the case, then two can play at that game._' He thought to himself as he stepped into the Corridor to the next world.

What they didn't know was that they were completely wrong about what they came up with. But things were about to become more risky for Sora's group as well as Riku and Mickey.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the Keyblade Graveyard, thirteen stone collums stood in the middle of the wasteland, as since the World that Never Was had been destroyed by the defeat of Xemnas, this was where Master Xehanort and the true Organization XIII now held their meetings and remained. As such, they would hold separate meetings as long as it was for the goal for the X-Blade. But first, they needed to fill out their ranks.

This was what Saix and another familiar member were discussing as well as other important things.

"Humanity is a precious gift, and yet you desire to return to the Organization?" Saix questioned to the man on the stone beside his own, his expression cold as ever.

The man in the black coat he was speaking to had his hood up, and yet there were strains of familiar blonde hair, as he spoke in a familiar, slightly high-ish tone that was also sinister as always. "Oh yes...Of course. One eradication at Axel's hands was enough to learn where not to place my trust."

"He gave you a second lease on life." The blue haired younger man pointed out.

"He ripped me away from the one thing I care about." The other man stated in return, with bitterness in his voice, adding with a hint of demand. "I don't require humanity. Give me my research. I must see it to frution, no matter the cost."

"The replicas." Saix muttered in realization. Well, it should make it far more easier for Master Xehanort's goal to complete Organization XIII's ranks. Even if the member besides Saix may not be a true member like he himself was, but for now along with another(why Xehanort picked _him_ was beyond Saix, but perhaps he could be useful later on), he was a back-up just in case one of their own is perished by the Guardians of Light.

Besides, as long as Xehanort remained in the dark, it was also helpful for Saix's own plans, which was one of the other reasons why he invited the scientist back.

"Yes." The other man snickered somewhat evilly. "Soon they will replace, not just replicate. Given a heart, they can become as real as any human."

This made Saix smirk. This was perfect, and as long as this remained a secret on both sides, none would be the wiser. As long as they were both careful about this, things would go into their favor, as well as the favor of the side that would ultimately win this war and see to the fate of the Realm of Light.

"What excellent tidings." He remarked, pleased with the man willing to agree upon this. "I would hate to think we invited you back into our ranks only for you to fail to deliver our final vessel...Vexen."

The man in question pulled down his hood, revealing his blond hair, and once was his green eyes were now like all other members of the Organization. Because unbeknownest to everyone in Radiant Garden as well as the Guardians of Light, that Even had left on his own accord, and willingly allowed himself to be 'norted' by Xehanort, and thus was once again a Nobody.

Vexen snickered in evil amusement.

"I will soon begin construction of our vessel." Vexen promised.

"See that you do once I deliver your research. It also requires a bit more information to reconfirm what was discovered long ago, something I believe was forgotten for reason." Saix replied.

Vexen chuckled, "Give my regards to Axel if you see him."

"Hmph. I assure you that I will." Saix promised in return, as he teleported away to begin his next tasks.

On his own, Vexen's smirk only grew.

* * *

_Back in the Timeless Realm...Hours earlier..._

In the illusion world based on the memory of Pranksters Paradise, a meeting was being held in a bar, between a man in a red coat, brown gloves and hat only known as the Couchman, and an anthropomorphic fox in a blue coat and ragged top hat, with green trousers named Honest John. With him is an anthropomorphic cat in yellow and red clothes named Giddy.

Couchman and Honest John look around, making sure that the bar was empty aside from the two of them and Giddy. The former than began whispering, "I'm collecting stupid little boys."

"Stupid little boys?" Honest John whispered back, confused. What was the man talking about?

"You know, the disobedient ones who play hooky from school."

"Oh!" The fox nodded, quickly understanding. He then listened in as Couchman whispered more into his ear. Giddy tried to listen through the other ear but was annoyed when he couldn't hear anything. The cat then cleaned it out and then did he manage to hear what the man was talking about, and nodded.

"...And I takes 'em to Pleasure Island." Couchman finished, leaning back.

"Ah...Pleasure Island." Honest John nodded...only to jump back in shock and horror and accidentally bumped Giddy to the floor when the information registered. "Pleasure Island!? But the law! Suppose they..."

"No, no. There's no risk." Couchman reassured, unfazed by the reaction. In fact, he was enjoying it as almost everyone knew of what Pleasure Island really held.

"They never come back as _**BOYS!**_" He continued, leaning up close with a sudden very evil look, his eyes all wide like a monster's, his face all red and his hair suddenly turning into the form of horns. He then laughed manically which made both Honest John and Giddy cling each other in pure fear.

Couchman then continued with the bargain and deal, and out of terror, Honest John could only agree.

* * *

_Hours later, back with Kairi and Lea..._

After their unexpected adventure in the illusion of Enchanted Domionion, Kairi and Lea emerged from the entry point into the next illusionary world, which again was a world that none of them had seen before. When they appeared, they found themselves in front of large wooden doors that resembled to that of a castle of what appeared to be an amusement park.

"Huh? Where are we?" Kairi asked as she and Lea looked around. Beyond the small, pink-stoned plaza the two had arrived at was a pair of ramps leading to a snow-white path leading onward beneath a tall sign overhead. The sign was circus-colored with a clown-shaped head in the middle; the clown's eyes were slowly moving from side-to-side as its mouth opened and closed at the rate the eyes were moving.

There was also an unmistakable sight of a variety of rides, including a large Ferris Wheel, a medium-sized, orange-and-green-colored Carousel with white horses and a peaked roof, the long, pink-and-sea-blue-colored track of a Roller Coaster constructed upon a series of towers, a smaller section containing a large, grey-stoned Mansion, and even another secluded section containing a tall, gangster-like figure holding a club with a cigar in its mouth.

"Looks like a theme park." Lea remarked, then noticed what was on the ground and cringed. "At least what it used to be a theme park."

The park looked amazing, but it apparently lost all the lights and colours before they even got here. There was a few splatters of red, blue, and green-colored paint gradually dripping from where they had somehow splashed onto the whitish stones of the wall. The plaza itself was littered with sticky gum wrappers, empty popcorn bags, smashed peanut shells, trampled cups once holding soda, all sorts of crumpled candy wrappers, snapped cotton-candy sticks, crushed ice-cream cones with a few, melting scoops of various flavors of ice-cream splattered beside them, and even a large amount of half-smoked cigars all over the place.

"Ew." Kairi cringed in disgust. "Some certainly hasn't cleaned this mess up."

"Even I wasn't messy when it came to my bedroom when I was a kid." Lea couldn't help but agree, and grimaced in disgust when he noticed the sticky bubble gum remains on the ground that he nearly stepped in. "Ah, gross."

"Neither were Sora or Riku. Yes I have met a few mischief boys, but most of them were never this messy. But I wonder why this place is left in such a state." Kairi shook her head.

"Maybe we came a bad time, 'cause I don't see anybody around. It probably gets cleaned up in the mornin' or something." The red haired man shrugged.

Before Kairi could respond to that, she and Lea both heard a familiar dreaded sound and when they looked, Heartless suddenly appeared to attack them. Mentally groaning, the two of them quickly summoned their Keyblades to fight.

"Or maybe the Heartless are the ones who made this mess. Time to teach them some manners!" Kairi remarked, and slashed at one Heartless that attempted to attack her.

"See, the thing about Heartless, is that they _never_ have any manners. Then again, neither did the non-human shaped Nobodies. Got it memorized?" Lea pointed out, crushing another Heartless that came too close for his taste.

Without any more time to talk, the two new Keyblade Wielders sprung into action, clashing against the Heartless that came their way as they reached the center of the park and quickly fought down the monsters. Kairi chanted Blizzard to freeze one and slashed at it several times when it was shattered into pieces and faded out from existence. She then dodge-rolled to avoid the Element Heartless-while also avoiding getting the rubbish on the ground getting onto her at the same time-before whacking it to the side where it crashed into other Heartless, before she carefully used Fire to eliminate them since she had to watch her magic.

Lea thrusts his Keyblade upward on the back of the Belly-Heartless, and then threw his said weapon while engulfing it with flames to increase the damage of his opponent. Once that Heartless was taken care off, he retrieved his Keyblade and then set four other Heartless alight with his Fire Abilities, before he spun around and cleaved a weird party-looking Heartless in half. It had resembled an evil-looking clown which gave him the creeps. He narrowly ducked to avoid an Ice Element Heartless from freezing him, which he counter-attacked by setting it up in flames as well.

Kairi, realizing her magic was getting low and mentally thanking Merlin for the endless supplies of potions and elixirs in case things went wrong, quickly gulped down the latter to restore her magic and blocked another Heartless with Destiny's Embrace before chanting Light at the Soldier Heartless group, destroying two and finished up the third with a few strikes. She and Lea kept at it until the last of the Heartless were defeated.

"Phew." Lea sighed, as he and Kairi dismissed their Keyblades. "See? No manners."

"I agree." A voice that was familiar to Kairi, but unfamiliar to Lea. But as the two looked around in surprise, they couldn't find the owner of the voice who continued. "From what I could see, they're worse than the boys that made a mess around here."

Realizing that it was coming from below them, Kairi and Lea looked down and saw, to Kairi's further surprise, was Jiminy Cricket who was looking up to them.

'_Jiminy? I thought he was with Sora, Donald and Goofy._' Kairi thought in surprise, remembering the brief information Riku and King Mickey had mentioned earlier. It wasn't until a second later she realized that this wasn't the real Jiminy. This was just a memory of him, like Aurora and the three good fairies. She then realized that this world must be where the helpful cricket originally came from.

"Whoa! Now who?" Lea asked, taken aback at the talking cricket. What is it with talking animals in certain worlds? He certainly didn't remember meeting this little guy.

"Oops. I'm sorry if I startled you. I gotta be more careful." Jiminy sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, before introducing himself while bowing his greetings. "Cricket's the name; Jiminy Cricket."

"It's nice to meet you, Jiminy." Kairi greeted with a smile, once she reminded herself of this 're-introduction'. "My name's Kairi."

"Uh...and I'm Lea. You can call me Axel if ya' want. Got it memorized?" Lea added, a bit more awkwardly.

"Pleasure to meet you both too." Jiminy replied. "First time I've met nicer people all night."

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked.

"This wouldn't happen to be related to why this place is...well, you know?" Lea queried.

The cricket sighed, hanging his head low as he answered. "To be honest, I'm not really sure. See, I was with Pinocchio, who shall we say is a young puppet trying to become a real boy, but he hasn't been good since coming here. Why, the only other boy who is just as worse is his _"best friend"_ Lampwick. Everybody else seemed to have disappeared." Jiminy had made the finger gestures when he said "best friend".

"That's terrible." Kairi said, feeling sorry for Jiminy as she began to read the lines and also remembering what Sora and Riku told her. Though none of them or the real Jiminy mentioned anything about this Lampwick boy.

"Uh, could you start right from the beginning? I mean, we both just got here before the Heartless attacked us, and the only one we saw today is you." Lea requested. This whole thing was starting to make him feel uneasy and given that when Jiminy said that everyone else that came here earlier had disappeared somehow, and the only ones were the three of them, and the two other boys who where still here, he suddenly had a bad feeling about this.

Accepting the request, Jiminy told both Kairi and Lea of how Pinocchio was made by a kind toy maker Geppetto who made a wish upon a star that Pinocchio would be a real boy, and the kind Blue Fairy appeared, bringing Pinocchio to life and told him that in order to become a real boy, he must prove himself brave, truthful and unselfish. Jiminy himself had been appointed as his conscience...which fell apart due to what happened and that Jiminy had decided to quit.

"...After that, those monsters you call the Heartless appeared." Jiminy concluded.

"Right. So basically being here on this island isn't helping much with Pinocchio tryin' to become a real kid. So it wasn't the Heartless that messed up the park." Lea repraised.

"Maybe we can help you at least take Pinocchio back home. I mean, his father must be very worried by now." Kairi suggested. "With the Heartless around, he and the other boy are in danger."

"I'm with her on that one. Those things could be how everybody else vanished." Lea nodded in agreement, thinking along the lines.

"As much I want to thank you, he won't be able to listen to me. But you're right; Geppetto could be very worried by now." Jiminy responded.

Kairi nodded in agreement, but then she, Lea and Jiminy then heard a loud noise coming from the other side of the door which made them turn. Sharing a confused glance while wondering what was going on, the trio approached it with Kairi offering Jiminy a ride on her shoulder. He accepted and hopped into her palms before she lifted him up high enough for him to hop onto her right shoulder.

But as Lea pulled at the doors, he groaned when he realized that they wouldn't open. "Oh, great. They're locked. Somebody must've locked us in or somethin'."

Kairi and Jiminy both shared a worried glance, as Lea then pounded at the doors while calling out to whoever's on the other side. "Hey! They're are people still in here!"

But no one on the other side responded. The three of them shared another concerned look before Lea sighed, "Well, hate to say this, but there's only one other option."

"Wait." Kairi quickly took hold of his arm to stop him, as she knew what he was about to do. "I don't think that's such a good idea to use our Keyblade like this."

"Hold on. I have an idea. I'll see if there's anything going on, and come back to let you both know what I saw." Jiminy suggested, pointing at the small hole underneath the door.

Despite worried that there could be Heartless on the other side, Kairi and Lea both reluctantly agreed and told the cricket to be careful. Promising to do so, Jiminy hopped off the teenage girl's shoulder and slid underneath the hole while the Keyblade Wielders leaned up against the doors to see if they can hear anything.

Luckly the doors weren't sound proof, but along with the constant noises, they did manage to hear an unfamiliar man's voice...laughing before barking orders to whoever was with him.

"_C'mon, you blokes! Keep it moving. Lively there, now! We haven't got all night!_" The voice of the Couchman yelled, along with the sounds of a whip snapping.

"What's going on?" Kairi whispered, feeling chills crawl into her skin. She didn't like the sound of that. Not only that, she could sense a terrible presence of darkness to the man crueling giving out orders.

"Dunno, but from the sound of things, it can't be good." Lea whispered back, as he didn't like this either.

They continued to listen in while Jiminy listened and witnessed what was going on, as from where he was standing, the Couchman had many black figures putting donkeys that were braying loudly into crates and loading them into the boat. The cricket was confused, wondering where all the donkeys came from.

"_Come on, come on! Let's have another!_" The Couchman was commanding, and as Kairi and Lea continued to listen, the bad feeling they felt getting worse by the second, they heard him speak apparently to someone. "_And what might your name be?_"

The answer they heard sent chills down their spine, because the person that spoke sounded like a young boy and he sounded frightened and upset. "_Alexander._"

Kairi and Lea both gasped. Was this guy holding the missing boys captive!?

"_So, you can talk?_" The Coachman questioned, which again confused the duo. Could he be the one that attracted the Heartless? But what did he mean by 'You can talk'? Ignoring the boy's plea in wanting to go home, the man yelled. "_Take him back! He can still talk!_"

Kairi and Lea could hear the protests of the boy as well as other boys, that made them even more horrified, until Kairi and the boys on the other side jumped in fright when the Couchman shouted in pure anger. Even Lea was startled before he could stop himself. He has faced up against much more scarier monsters bravely and even Xehanort didn't scare him as much, but still...

"_QUIET!_" Couchman yelled. "_You boys have had your fun! Now pay for it!_"

"Oh, no!" Kairi gasped, covering her mouth with her hands in horror as she Lea leaned back.

"Okay, this is bad." Lea muttered, just as Jiminy came racing back through the door, panting. The redhead then turned to him and asked quickly, "We could hear that whoever's outside has all the kids captured, but what does he want with them?"

"He's gonna sell them! Those boys have somehow turned into donkeys! This place is terrible!" Jiminy answered quickly in panic.

"What!?" Kairi exclaimed, only for Lea to quickly cover her mouth and shushed her.

"Shh! They could hear us!" He whispered, and once he knew that she got the idea, he released her. "But seriously, those kids have literally turned into donkeys?"

"Sure have, and worse, ALL of them. Some of them can still talk, but it won't be long before they end up losing that ability too!" Jiminy replied.

"Then we have to find and save Pinocchio before he turns into a donkey too!" Kairi whispered urgently, already standing up and allowed Jiminy to ride on her shoulder again.

"You know where he is?" Lea asked the cricket.

"That way!" Jiminy instructed, pointing into the park and down the path. Kairi and Lea both nodded, and as the teenage girl told the cricket to hold on, the group quickly ran down the direction to find where Pinocchio was as fast as they could. From what they finally understood, boys that were misbehaving and play around here too long would fall under this island's curse, which confirmed Lea's uneasy feelings.

The trio hurried as fast as they could, with Kairi and Lea following Jiminy's instructions until they arrived at a pool hall that resembled to a giant ball with the number eight on it. They made to quickly get inside when several more Heartless appeared, blocking the entrance of the building.

"Oh my stars! This is terrible!" Jiminy exclaimed.

"Jiminy! You get inside and to Pinocchio! Hurry!" Kairi instructed the cricket, as Lea summoned the Flame Liberator and insteadly cut down the Heartless in the middle and knocked back the other. Jiminy nodded and hopped off Kairi's shoulder as the teenage girl summoned Destiny's Embrace, knocked back the third Heartless which allowed Jiminy to quickly run inside. Kairi and Lea in the meantime stood in front of the entrance to block off the Heartless to prevent them from entering despite that they could hear the sounds of crashing from the building and hoped that they weren't too late.

The two of them quickly took care of the Heartless despite the numbers increasing, but eventually they were taken out.

"Let's help Pinocchio!" Kairi told Lea who nodded. But as they were about to enter the building, everything around them froze which made them gasp. Af first they thought it was the same thing that happened in Enchanted Dominion, but they soon found that it wasn't the case. They remained in the same place, but a few specks of darkness surrounded them as though they were some kind of sphere.

"What's goin on now?" Lea asked in disbelief.

"Time does not matter in this place." A shockingly familiar deepish voice spoke, making Lea and Kairi both freeze as their hearts stopped, and their eyes widened. That voice...it couldn't be! "I would have thought you'd known that by now."

The redheads spun around and saw a Corridor of Darkness having appeared, and a familiar blue haired man stepped out with the cold look in his once green eyes. Kairi froze up, her eyes widening as she instantly recognized this man; the unmistakable blue hair, the amber cold eyes, the scar on his face...the one who imprisoned her just as she escaped from Axel a year ago. The one who informed her that she was the one who put Sora in danger.

And had somewhat unexpectedly helped her learn of her Nobody's name.

* * *

_Flash-Back:_

_After helping her escape the cell, Kairi and Namine were running down the ramp of the Castle that Never Was until they and Pluto ended up stopping when two Berserker Nobodies appeared, along with Saix._

_"Naminé... There you are." Saix spoke coldly._

_"...Naminé...?" Kairi repeated, gazing at the blonde-haired girl next to her, while Naminé glared at Saix, because unknown to her, not only was she Kairi's Nobody, but like the red haired girl, she too was held captive._

_"Kairi, I'm afraid leaving is not an option." Saix informed the Princess of Heart next, holding out a hand for her to join him. "I'll take you to see Sora."_

_Kairi backed off, which had Saix to lower his arm, questioning her. "You don't want that?"_

_"I do, more than anything...But not with you around!" Kairi replied, getting into defense. She may not be a fighter, but she refused to allow herself to be captured again, or used against Sora. She wasn't going to be afraid anymore. Kairi sensed Naminé also get into defense, which told her that the girl next to her was on her side._

_"If I had a heart, this would be where I die of laughter." Saix remarked..._

* * *

End of Flash-Back;

Kairi tensed, before getting into a defense stance. Though she had heard that Saix is the Nobody of Isa, whom Lea admitted was once his best friend before things had gotten really bad, and even he agreed that he had to fight him eventually, she didn't want to get that far. Axel, she had forgiven and was now friends with, because of his reasons. But Saix? He attempted to harm Sora and anyone else.

"...Isa!" Lea tensed, shocked to see his former best friend again, and of all places, here in the Timeless Realm. Did something happen to Merlin? Or was he right about his and Kairi's test being hijacked just like Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery exam?

"Hello, Lea." Saix greeted darkly, before asking sarcastically. "Are you and Kairi enjoying your new positions as guardians of light?"

"Better than being Xehanort's heart tank." Lea grunted angrily, quickly getting into defense. As much as he also wanted to knock sense into Isa, Lea knew that he couldn't take any chances, especially with Kairi being at risk in getting kidnapped again. He couldn't let that happen to her, not again, not when they were just getting the hang of their training. From the looks of things, though, Xehanort wasn't making it any easier for them.

"And yet you still wear the black coat. Are you considering in changing your mind?" Saix stated, pointing at Lea's garment which made the redhead gasp, realizing that he didn't think of that.

"Not in a million years!" He snapped. "Don't throw away anything that isn't broken. Basic rule. Got it memorized?"

"Hmph. I guess that explains your attachment back then." Saix scoffed, frowning.

"What? So now you're calling Roxas a thing? You definitely lost it if you're calling other people like that." Lea sneered. He had always known that Saix had no attachments to Roxas who utterly disliked him in return due to the blue-haired man's cold nature.

"Roxas is Sora, nothing more, nothing less. Two sides of the same coin. Just the same with Namine being Kairi. The problem is, neither one hold the memories of their Nobodies. Perhaps they are far into darkness that the lights of their original selves have erased them from existense." Saix stated.

"That's not true!" Kairi snapped angrily. "Roxas is himself just like Sora is, and Namine is her own person, not me! Her feelings don't belong to me. What right did I have to take it all back?"

Saix gazed at the Princess of Heart with a smirk. "So you wish to do the same as Sora and Lea intend to do with Roxas. Perhaps you should ask yourselves; how is it that little puppet, Pinocchio, is able to be alive when he doesn't have a heart?"

"Like you're the one to talk." Lea scoffed this time. "You went back being a Nobody and the only heart you got is a piece of that big bad Xehanort."

"True, but you and I both know that Nobodies are the halfs of people. A puppet is only created by man; useless and foolishly believing it can have a heart and become a real human. Wood cannot be turn into flesh and blood and grow a heart like a few Nobodies can." Saix explained, unfazed by the reactions.

"You don't know what you're talking about! Pinocchio does have a heart! He has feelings just as much as anyone." Kairi yelled, close in summoning her Keyblade. She knew that she probably wasn't ready to take on a member of Organization XIII and despite Lea being a former member, he was originally more skilled with his chakrams and was still learning to get used to his Keyblade, but they had to at least drive off Saix from hurting Pinocchio and Jiminy.

"You do realize what you are saying?" Saix queried, continuing without waiting for an answer. "This is merely an illusion of a world. Based on a memory. Only the three of us here are real."

"Just get to the point!" Lea snapped impatiently. "You here under Xehanort's orders to kill me and kidnap Kairi, or what? 'Cause from what I seeing, you guys are the ones who started to mess up with our test in the first place."

"That is for me to debate." Saix replied. "Continue with your test, but soon you will both see the truth of Xehanort's goal."

Without another word, Saix began to teleport away.

"Get back here! Isa!" Lea shouted, reaching out. But it was too late. The Organization member was gone, and no sooner had Saix disappeared, the sphere around him and Kairi faded and time returned to normal, much to their confusion.

"Axel...what was he talking about?" Kairi asked, uneasily.

"I dunno. He's probably trying to mess with our heads and make us give up. If anything, I think it was...it was Xehanort talking through him or somethin'." Lea shrugged, just as uneasy as his younger companion. Though he couldn't help but think about that maybe Saix knew about...the mysterious black-haired girl, then his eyes widened as he suddenly remembered seeing the memory that came back to him just after Maleficent put Kairi to sleep.

"What's wrong?" Kairi spoke, concerned.

"...That girl...he called her-"

"C'mon, quick! Before you get worse!" Jiminy's voice cut Lea off, as the latter and Kairi both turned to see the Cricket and a small puppet boy run through the doors of the ball hall. He had blue eyes, four fingers on each of his hands with white gloves, a large yellow hat, a pair of crimson-red shoes, a blue bowtie, red overalls sporting yellow buttons, and a black vest. However, to Kairi and Lea's shock(and not just because Pinocchio was a living puppet with a heart of his own), the little puppet had unmistakable form of light-grey, pointed ears where his normal ones should have been. Pinocchio had also sprouted a tail in the seat of his red shorts.

"He's already turning into a donkey!" Kairi gasped in horror, covering her mouth in shock.

"Huh? Who are they?" Pinocchio asked, confused as he didn't recognize the two strangers.

"We'll talk later! Let's just get outta here!" Lea quickly suggested.

Seeing that he was right, Kairi, Jiminy and Pinocchio all nodded in agreement before they all quickly raced through the park and since the door was locked, not to mention that Couchman could easily see and capture them despite that it was too late for all the other boys which made the two Keyblade Wielders feel guilty about, the group of four climbed up the safest rocks and up the cliff.

Having made it, the group shared a worried glance before nodding, knowing that they had to jump. Which is what they did. They leaped and landed into the ocean, before they quickly resurfaced and began to swim across the sea far away from Pleasure Island, and towards the mainland.

After what seemed like forever, they finally reached the shores, and slowly climbed up, exhausted and soaking yet. Kairi helped Lea up by offering her hand which her took, and with her help heaved himself up before they pulled an equally exhausted Pinocchio up.

"Are you okay?" Kairi asked them.

"I-I think so." Pinocchio panted, using his tail to pull Jiminy and gently set him on the ground. "How about you, Jiminy?

"S-sure." Jiminy coughed, slamming himself on the side of the head to rid the water from his ears. "I-it sure is, good to be back on...dry land."

"T-tell me about it." Lea panted in agreement, groaning as he flopped onto his back.

"Axel?" Kairi muttered, worriedly.

Lea panted. "I'm okay. Maybe I shoulda ditched this coat for those new clothes after all. Remind me that if we have to go for, that unexpected swim again."

Kairi just giggled, relieved that her friend was alright, as were Pinocchio and Jiminy.

But this was only just half of what is yet to happen in this illusion of this world. On top of that, now Kairi and Lea really did have the Organization to worry about since none of them knew what Xehanort's or Saix's intentions are for them.

* * *

**A/N: I know that I should've done Riku and Mickey next, but then I realized that with seven illusion worlds to do, I didn't want to make it even more complicated. So yeah, the next chapter will continue Kairi and Lea's adventure, and maybe it'll end up being the last one of the illusion of Prankster's Paradise.**

**See you later!**


	23. Chapter 22: Somebody hail the Whale?

**A/N: Not much to say today. Enjoy reading!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 22: Somebody hail the Whale?

After what felt like several hours which was no more than half an hour if they were lucky, Kairi, Lea, Pinocchio and Jiminy eventually arrived in a cobble-stoned plaza in a small, quaint village. At one corner of the shadow-filled plaza was a small building with a green door diagonally facing the street. As soon as Pinocchio spotted it, he ran up to it quickly with Jiminy close behind.

"Father! Father, I'm home!" Pinocchio called out, reaching for the door and rang the bell several times while Jiminy knocked. After several tries, there was no response.

"Why isn't he answering?" Kairi asked, mystified. Surely Geppetto could hear his son's calls, knocks and the ringing of the bell. The silence that followed left her began to think that something was wrong.

Lea seemed to be thinking along the same lines, because he he thought deeply before approaching the window, wiping off enough smog to see through and peered inside. The room was dark, and...virtually empty. It made his stomach turn and his heart drop.

"Uh, guys? He's not even here." Lea softly called up, hating to break the bad news.

Wondering what the redhead meant by that as he beckoned the group to come over, Kairi, Pinocchio and Jiminy who jumped onto the window sill, also peered inside and their eyes widened and hearts dropped in dismay when they saw that Lea was right. Even in the dim-light and darkness of the room, there was a single bed, a smaller bed made for a cat, but there was no sign of the toy maker, or said cat, and there was a circle on a table that once sat a fish bowl. The room had a few signs of dust and cobwebs as well.

"He...he's gone." Pinocchio muttered, almost completely speechless. "Figaro and Cleo..."

"They're gone too." Jiminy nodded sadly.

Kairi felt her heart ache for the two of them. It didn't take her or Lea long to figure out why Pinocchio's father was missing.

"He must have left to try and find you, because he was worried." Kairi told the sad puppet who hung his head in sorrow and showing signs of guilt and worry of his own.

"She's right." Lea sighed, adding as even he wasn't immune to this sort thing. Not to mention that it was bringing back memories of his own failed attempts to find and bring back Roxas. "As far as that goes, he could be still out there looking for you and doesn't know that you're back already."

Pinocchio didn't say anything, but from what he could understand, Kairi and Lea were right. What was worse, he didn't go to school like he should have, or come home in a hurry like he promised. It made him feel terrible, and now he had no idea where Geppetto could be. The first thing he'd wanted to do when he came home was to apologuise, but right now he couldn't. So he solemly sat on the single step of the door and placed his hands under his chin, and Jiminy took a seat next to him.

Kairi and Lea both shared a concerned expression, mentally wondering what to do now. Finding themselves stuck, Kairi then took a seat next to Pinocchio by his left and placed her hand onto his back, giving it a gentle rub to comfort him. It was the least she could do right now. Kairi knew how she was feeling, and she also knew how Geppetto must have felt. The concern of whether or not the person they cared about would come home or not, and then feeling that waiting wasn't enough, the urge to go out and look everywhere no matter what was impossible to resist, but it only made the situation even more harder.

She knew, because Kairi had been certain that Sora searched everywhere for her and Riku, and when she felt that waiting for both of them to come home wasn't enough, Kairi felt the need to go out and find them herself, even though Axel had attempted to use her to get to Sora, but it was because he too had a lost friend that he wanted back, even to at least apologize but did it the wrong way. Even now, Lea still didn't have his friends back, and Kairi couldn't help but worry about her two best friends, yet she had to focus on how to help Pinocchio find his now missing father.

Lea sighed while folding his arms and looked out into the deserted and quiet streets, the valley they were in and the tall mountains. Even the street lamps weren't enough to block out the lights of the stars above, and he noticed one that was the brightest; the wishing star, as he recalled. According to Pinocchio and Jiminy, the wishing star was the Blue Fairy, the one who brought Pinocchio to life, because she had the power to make people's wishes come true.

'_...Wonder if my wishes will come true._' Lea thought to himself. He had considered about it, and as a child, he believed in many fairy tales, including the story of the Light and how the worlds came to be. When he was a teenager, he came to a conclusion that it was all silly. Now, he knew that one fairy tale was true; the Light, and the worlds, only that it was partally told to avoid the real truth of how it came to be due to the dark facts of what the Keyblade War and the X-Blade actually were.

But no, wishing isn't going to get Roxas back, remembering the mysterious black-haired girl, bringing Isa back to normal, or making Xehanort learn his lessons and just quit the whole destroy the realm of light and claim the X-Blade thing. To do all of that, Lea and everyone else will have to work hard for it. Besides, he still wanted to atone for his crimes as a Nobody.

"Gee, maybe something awful happened to him." Pinocchio muttered at last, which caught Lea's attention.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he hasn't gone far." Jiminy comforted.

"He's right. Maybe he's coming back right now." Kairi added with a small smile, though it was forced. In truth, she was just as worried and couldn't help but mentally agree with Pinocchio. She tried to stay positive, but with the Heartless around, it was a hard thing to do. For all they knew, Geppetto could be in danger and had to be saved.

Lea sighed once more and turned his attention to the sky once more, not sure what to say. Sure he can fight and was skilled at fire, and was cool and calm at most cases, but trying to comfort a distraught kid...he didn't know how to do it. He spent so many years without a heart and being an assassin, that even spending time with Roxas who helped him change somehow, made him being able to laugh and feel again, seeing people cry made him feel awkward.

He was brought out of his musings when he caught sight of the wishing star glowing a bit brighter, and a small light float down towards them.

"Huh?" He blinked, unfolding his arms and stood up straight for a better glimpse. Lea wasn't the only one who noticed, because he heard Kairi softly gasp in confusion as well as she, Pinocchio and Jiminy looked up to see what was going on. The light dimmed slightly to reveal a glowing white dove hovering over the section of the square for a moment, before opening it's beak to let go of something and then flew back into the sky and disappearing.

What it dropped was a glowing piece of paper that floated down and gently landed onto the pebble ground. The group stared at it for a while, before Lea approached and picked it up for a closer look.

"What is it?" Kairi asked as she and the others stood up, approaching the taller man.

"It's a message." Lea replied, adding as he read the first few lines. "It's about Pinocchio's dad."

Jiminy hopped and jumped onto Lea's shoulder, slightly startling him while reading the message as well. "You're right! It is about Pinocchio's father."

"Really!? Where is he?" Pinocchio exclaimed, desperate to find out.

"Kairi and Lea are right. He went looking for you because you disappeared..." Jiminy answered which confirmed the said two Keyblader's theories, adding. "...And then he...got swallowed by a whale."

"Swallowed by a whale!?" Pinocchio asked, and Kairi gave out a horrified gasp as she covered her mouth in shock.

"_Whaaat!?_ No way!" Lea exclaimed, just as shocked as he looked at the letter again.

Jiminy nodded, before the gravity of the situation hit him as he then jumped in alarm as well. "A _**whale!?**_"

"So, he went out to find his kid and...was then eaten!?" Lea reprised, and felt a sharp chill run down his back. The very idea of being eaten by a whale was going to give him nightmares. He just knew it.

"Then that means...he's..." Kairi trailed off, not wanting to continue and fearing for the worst.

"A-A whale named Monstro!" Jiminy speedily continued reading, and felt some relief as he added. "B-but he's still alive!"

"He is?" Kairi asked, in relief and disbelief.

"Where?" Pinocchio added.

Lea looked at Pinocchio as though asking 'did you forget already?' as he stated. "It means that he'd been swallowed by a whale alive and right now still is."

"And at the bottom of the sea." Jiminy added as he continued reading.

Pinocchio didn't think long as he almost instantly knew what he had to do. So with determination to find his father, he began to take off down the streets, much to the shock and confusion of the others.

"Pinocchio! Where are you going?" Kairi called out, worriedly. She has heard of Monstro from Sora and Riku, and then her heart froze for a moment in realization; both of them, Donald and Goofy had been swallowed up by the giant whale before the defeat of the Heartless inside it's stomach sneezed them, the real Jiminy, the real Pinocchio and the real Geppetto out.

Which means there was the risk of going up against this illusion of Monstro, which started to make her slightly sick.

"I'm gonna go find him." Pinocchio replied without looking back, shocking them even further.

"Are you crazy!?" Lea exclaimed in disbelief. What was Pinocchio thinking? Like Kairi, he too heard of the massive man-eating whale. But from the Organization and while as Axel he never heard of it but heard rumors that it most likely fell into darkness even as the worlds were restored, it never phased him. Now as a human, Lea couldn't help but feel terrified.

"Pinoke! Wait!" Jiminy cried out, but the puppet didn't listen. Desperate, he turned to both Kairi and Lea. "We have to follow him before he gets into trouble again!"

"Right!" Kairi nodded, turning to Lea and beckoned him. "Come on, Axel!"

Before Lea could stop her and the cricket, Kairi and Jiminy who hopped off his shoulder and back onto Kairi's took off running after Pinocchio. Lea stood there a a few moments before groaning in dismay.

"...Why do I _always_ get stuck with the icky jobs?" He complained to himself as he rushed off to follow the others. Kids were such handfuls, especially teenagers, and kids like Pinocchio.

This was going to be a disaster. He just knew it.

* * *

As Kairi, Lea and Jiminy finally caught up with Pinocchio while the former two easily took out Heartless that appeared again, they were standing on a tall cliff rising out of the gently-moving waves of the deep, dark-blue ocean far below. The sky by then was turning pink, red, orange, yellow and light blue, as the first signs of the morning sun was shown.

Everyone gathered around Pinocchio who was securely tying his donkey tail to a large, heavy rock.

"This Monstro, I've heard o'him; he's a whale of a whale! Why, he swallows whole ships alive!" A very concerned Jiminy proclaimed, even though he helped Pinocchio to tie the tail completely. "It's dangerous!"

Kairi paled at the proclaim. Yes she was concerned about Geppetto, and she did want to help to rescue him, but she also knew that it was possibily difficult. More so than rescuing Prince Phillip in the Enchanted Dominion and fighting against the illusion of Maleficent. She was beginning to see why Sora and Riku said all those adventures of theirs were never easy. She'd known that it wouldn't be easy, but this was much harder and terrifying than she ever thought.

But no, fear would only bring her down. Kairi had promised she wouldn't be waiting anymore, that she would help for the great battle up ahead in the Realm of Light, and she meant it. She wasn't going to make that mistake again.

"Goodbye, Jiminy." Pinocchio held out a hand to the cricket.

"Goodbye!?" Jiminy repeated, eyes wide in disbelief. He then relaxed a bit and told him. "I may be live bait down there, but I'm with ya!"

"This is dangerous and scary, but we're going too." Kairi declared, then turned to Lea who looked at her in shock. "Right, Axel?"

Lea shifted uncomfortably, but after a few seconds he knew that there was no getting out of this even if they were luring themselves to become fish food, he sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Well, yeah. But just show you guys know, I can't use my powers underwater. Fire is useless in the ocean."

'_Not to mention...we're gonna drown before we end up eaten._' He thought to himself, worriedly. He was not looking forward to this.

With a nod of agreement, Jiminy hopped into the palm of Pinocchio's outstretched hand. As the puppet stepped to the edge of the cliff, with Kairi and Lea close behind, the group were ready to leap.

"Look out _BELOOOOOOOOOOWW!_" Jiminy shouted as Pinocchio walked off the cliff and they decended into the water below.

"Here we go!" Kairi exclaimed, taking a few steps back before running towards the cliff and jumped.

"Well, here goes." Lea gulped. Oh sure, he could swim, but he'd never been too keen of missions in worlds that had water, mainly Atlantica. Taking a deep breath, he jumped as he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Comin' down!"

One by one they landed in a big splash into the ocean and allowed themselves to sink to the ocean floor. They floated down and gently landed while looking around their surroundings in awe. It felt awkward as the water kept on trying to lift them into a floating position, but somehow Kairi and Lea managed even though the latter felt himself sinking a bit due to the black coat. He seriously should've tried on the new clothes that were offered to him, but no, he insisted on keeping the coat until after he reunited with Roxas and Isa and...the girl.

Fortunately Kairi never had that problem even with her hold pink dress.

To the two Keyblade Wielders surprise, not only they could breathe underwater as they didn't seem to be struggling at all, Pinocchio somehow managed to speak as he looked around, amazed, even though it was gurgled. "_Gee. What a big place._"

"_This is amazing. How can we all breathe underwater?_" Kairi asked in awe, giggling as a little red fish swam up to her curiously and around her before swimming away.

"_Frankly, I have no id-Hey, shoo!_" Lea gurgled as he swiped away a blue fish that tried to get into his ear before swimming off. He glared at it's retreating form before grumbling to himself. "_Ugh. The sooner we find the kid's dad, the better we can get outta here._"

No one argued with him on that, as Pinocchio pulled himself down and began walk ahead slowly, with Jiminy, Kairi and Lea following in a steady pace despite that the deeper they went, the darker the ocean got. Even worse, Lea couldn't use his fire abilities to light the way since it would go out in not even a second. In fact, it wouldn't even come up at all.

They passed through coral, encountered schools of curious fish and even sea horses which Jiminy somehow ended up rising on one. Kairi and Pinocchio both giggled when the tiny fish and sea horses brifely tickled them. Lea though wasn't amused as a crab nibbled at the bottom of his coat with it's claw.

"_Hey!_" Lea yelled, tugging the material away while the crab scurried off before he sighed. It figured that he had the worst luck when it came to sea life.

"_Hello, there._" Kairi gently greeted a little clown fish with one stumpy fin but seemed to swim fine, and his father who was a bit bigger. There was a blue tank fish as well.(1)

"_Oh, hello._" Pinocchio greeted with a smile, before asking the fish. "_Could you tell me where I can find Monstro?_"

"..._You do realize that you're talking to fish, right?_" Lea deadpanned with a raised eyebrow, only to jump out of the way, startled as as soon as Pinocchio finished his question, all of the fish held frightened expressions and swam away into the direction where the group came from.

"_Whoa, whoa! Hey, hey, hey! Easy!_" Jiminy cried out as the terrified sea-horse swam away, before he was pushed off and it continued to flee.

"_Gee...they're scared._" Pinocchio muttered thoughtfully.

"_I guess even they don't want to go near Monstro because they know how dangerous he is._" Kairi said in realization.

Lea once again looked uneasy, as he shrugged while muttering to himself, considering how trying to find said whale was like asking to be breakfest. "_At least they have the right idea._"

"_I don't think asking will help. We'll have to keep looking ourselves._" Kairi muttered, not hearing what Lea had said.

Pinocchio and Jiminy nodded in agreement while Lea shrugged again. The four of them then continued on further into the ocean to try and find Monstro and rescue Geppetto...hopefully without getting swallowed themselves.

* * *

Further ahead on the seabed, the gigantic dark blue form of Monstro the Whale slept or was simply resting after having another meal that was currently trapped inside him. Inside that was a huge air bubble was a small pool of water, with wooden blanks here and there with the fleshy walls all around. There was also a run-down house boat, where an old man with puffy white hair and mustache, wearing a pair of spectacles a long sleeved white botton shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a black vest over it. He also had dark brown trousers with high socks and buckle down shoes.

The man, Geppetto, was sitting on the wooden railing with a hand-made fishing pole. With him was a small black and white cat named Figaro with a fishing line tied up to his tail, and behind them was a fish bowl with a beautiful goldfish named Cleo. And they were all depressed, having tried and failed to find Pinocchio and instead, upon learning that he could be on Pleasure Island, the legendary cursed island, made a raft to try and rescue him only to fall victim of the giant whale and thus were swallowed up.

"Not a bite." Geppetto sighed, having resigned to fish up swallowed fish in order to survive. But so far there was none. He and Fiaro then both sneezed, feeling cold despite the warm uncomfortable air moisture within the fleshy prison. "I never thought it would end this way. Starving in the belly of a whale."

He gave a tearful and sad Fiagro a comforting pat. "My poor little Pinocchio. He was such a good boy." Geppetto sighed, and as he and the small cat found that they were empty handing, continued. "There isn't any fish left. If the monster doesn't wake up soon...I'm afraid we're all doomed."

What they didn't know was that not all hope was lost.

* * *

Kairi, Lea, Pinocchio and Jiminy continued on searching for Monstro in hopes of saving Geppetto while taking out underwater Heartless(which was awkward since they were fighting underwater and Lea still couldn't use his fire abilities, so he had to make do with his Keyblade doing all the work), when they arrived at an underwater cliff that over looked the ocean's abyss and clear sea bed.

They looked out into the distance for any signs of the giant whale. But so far, nothing. Until they spotted something coming towards them from the distance. At first the group thought it was Monstro, but when it came into view, it was anything but.

It looked like an over-sized crab with a black and orange body, gigantic pincers almost as big as it's said body, six black legs with yellow glaring like eyes, and to make things more weird, it had a lobster-tail on the back. But what was on it's chest had Kairi and Lea gasp in shock while Pinocchio and Jiminy looked horrified.

"_A Heartless!_" Kairi cried out.

"_Hit the deck!_" Lea warned, pushing Kairi, Pinocchio and Jiminy down to avoid getting hit by the rapidly speeding Heartless. However, just as the Heartless-Crab swum over them, it created a huge current that sucked them up high into the water, which also untied Pinocchio's tail from the rock.

The group were unable to swim or escape from the rough moving water while spinning uncontrollably around in circles. Eventually Lea managed to stop himself from spinning and grabbed hold of Kairi's arm to stop her from being drifted away. She did the same for Pinocchio while Jiminy grabbed hold of the puppet's donkey tail. They looked up and saw the Heartless changing course and about to swim back towards them in high speed.

Realizing there wasn't much of a choice, Kairi turned to the two residents of this world and firmly ordered them, "_Jiminy, Pinocchio! You two get to safety! Hurry!_"

The said to nodded and quickly swam away for a place to hide, while Kairi and Lea floated and glared at the Heartless, summoning their Keyblades while floating underwater despite that the latter was sinking slightly as this wasn't going to be easy at all. But he had to at least try. They both swam out of the way and were nearly hit by the hard currents of the water but managed to keep their balance. Kairi chanted her Flower Shoot at the Heartless's head, forcing it to reel back in pain. It allowed her and Lea to swim up and strike as hard as they could.

Kairi aimed for the head while Lea attacked at the claws, awkwardly avoiding to be snapped in half when it tried to get to him. As the Heartless came to it's senses, it attempted to grab Kairi with it's other pincer, but she swam up to dodge it and came close in being caught before it gave up this attempt and dove down low. Lea tried to slam his Keyblade on the back of the head but missed and the two could only watch as the Heartless then stopped and turned around, glaring at the two people. Then then swam up rapidly towards them which forced them to dodge, but they were hit by one of the pinchers and knocked back, once again spinning out of control.

Winching, Kairi used Cure on herself and Lea who shook his head, and then they had to swim up towards the Heartless while trying to avoid it's attacks which it lifted up it's legs and they literally shot out like missiles towards them. The two altered their course and swum to the sides to avoid the attacks. The missile-legs hit the sand below before vanishing and regenerating back onto the Heartless' body. They used this oppotunity to attack again. First Kairi chanted Blizzard at it's chest, and Lea tossed his Keyblade at it's head, which was slower due to being underwater, but at least it still had a pretty good hit.

Kairi then glared at the Heartless with determination as she focused on her magic, before casting Light at it's chest once more, this time doing more damage. Unexpectedly, even to her, she held up her Keyblade above her as a pink orb of Light formed while Lea did another hit on the Heartless before swimming out of the way.

"Pearl!" She chanted, swiping her Keyblade as she sent out the attack, forcing the Heartless backwards and sinking towards the sea floor. At first stunned by this, Kairi and Lea who was just as shocked and amazed, share a look before nodding and finished off the Heartless with a combo-strike. It crashed onto the sea floor where it laid there before vanishing into darkness.

The two of them floated there for a moment before dismissing their Keyblades as Lea asked her. "_Whoa! Where'd you learn that spell?_"

"_I don't know. I sort of remember seeing King Mickey using it and, I have thought about praticting with it. But then I felt a new kind of warmth inside me. It's...really strange._" Kairi admitted.

"_Well, ya' do learn new tricks along the way, even without anybody teachin' you._" Lea chuckled, impressed. Kairi smiled back at him, with a hint of pride surging inside her.

However, things weren't meant to stay calm for long. Because at the corner of their eyes, they spotted something coming towards them again. When Kairi and Lea looked, they saw a large number of fish swimming away with sheer looks of terror, and found that Pinocchio and Jiminy, once seeing the coast was clear, were again on the cliff just below the Keyblade Wielders.

"_Wait! Wait! Have you seen-_" Pinocchio cried out to the fish, only to look ahead to see what the fishing were swimming away from. The answer made him, Jiminy, Kairi and Lea horrified as the rapidly approaching large figure of the giant whale was currently swallowing the school of fish group by group-and was heading straight towards them!

"_**MONSTRO!**_" Kairi and Pinocchio screamed in horror.

"_T-time to go!_" Lea yelped, eyes wide in sheer terror. He'd known that Monstro was big, but he didn't expect it to be this huge!

"_Whoa! We gotta get outta here!_" Jiminy exclaimed.

The group quickly swam away as fast as they could, while Monstro crushed through the cliff, rendering it into nothing but a pile of rocks with every intention of swallowing everything and everyone in his path. Kairi, Lea, Pinocchio and Jiminy, however, had no intentions of doing so as they continued to swim for the surface depsite the fact that Geppetto was inside it. But it was becoming difficult and hopeless as Monstro continued to swim towards them with his mouth wide open, eating more than half of the school of fish.

Unfortunately, Pinocchio and the last remaining school of fish swam up towards the surface with Monstro following them. This caused more currents of water to almost swallow Kairi and Lea, but instead it pushed them and Jiminy who ended up shooting up into the surface himself away. The two Keyblade wielders screamed as they were pushed back towards where they came from. While Kairi hit a large coral that somewhat softened her landing, Lea hit a rock hard on his back and the back of his head that made him cry out in pain before losing consciousness and began to sink down below.

"_Axel!_" Kairi exclaimed in worry, untangling herself and swimming down towards her companion. She managed to grab hold of him by the waist and despite him being a bit heavy, she swam up towards the surface as hard as she could. She managed to reach the surface and despite having been able to breathe underwater, took a huge gulp of air, gasping, and floated, with the unconscious Lea in her arms.

While this was happening, Pinocchio and the last remaining fish literally shot out of the water and into air, scaring off a flock of seagulls who flew away. But neither the puppet or the fish were able to escape as Monstro dove up and just as they fell past his jaws, he slammed his mouth shut and with a leap, crashed back onto the water with huge waves being send all over the place. This Kairi noticed and screamed out as the waves pushed her and Lea away, causing them to be washed up onto the shores of a small island nearby.

Jiminy, using his umbrella to gently float down right next to Monster, turned it upside down and used it as a boat, attemping to get inside the whale, but the mouth was tightly shut.

"Hey! Blubber-mouth! Open up! I gotta get in there!" Jiminy shouted while pounding the massive giant teeth, but his yelling was left unanswered.

Kairi, exhausted and worn out, pulled Lea up onto the shoreline and laid him on the sandy beach that was far from Monstro, but somewhat close to the mainland. She panted for a bit, and just sat on her knees. Just as she was about to see if Lea was still alive and attempted to use Cure on him, the last of her strength left her as she moan, feeling dizzy and nauseus before falling onto her side next to him.

"..A-Axel..." She weakly reached out to him, before her arm fell onto the sand and her world went black.

* * *

Unaware to them, a short figure of Madam Mim was observing this from the same cliff that Kairi's group jumped from earlier and snickered evilly. She then snapped her fingers and surrouded both Kairi and Lea as well as the small shore with dark magic that created a huge orb of dimensional space. She then vanished into a dark cloud of dust.

Yet another figure saw the orb and frowned deeply. This was making things more complicated now.

* * *

_Kairi's Station of Awakening..._

Darkness. That was all she could see. Kairi had no idea where she was or what happened, because she was finding herself slowly descending. Moaning, she slowly opened her eyes and found that, below her was a strange looking giant glass platform, with a picture of her younger, fourteen year old self, with images of Sora, Riku, Lea, King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Namine and oddly enough, Aqua surrounding her.

Finding herself landing gently in a standing position, Kairi blinked, quickly becoming aware and found that, to her shock, she was in the form of her fourteen year old self. She looked at her hands and at the rest of herself in confusion.

"W-what happened?" She spoke, becoming frightened. "Where am I?"

_**Pure Light within the Darkness...**_

Kairi jumped, looking around for the source of the unfamiliar voice that spoke. It was oddly soundless, but she can somehow read it in her mind, which was making her even more nervous.

_**Heart of Light, past and present generation...bestowed successor of the Keyblade...Don't be afraid...**_

'_Easy for you to say._' Kairi thought to herself, then blinked in surprise when a mirror suddenly appeared. What made it even more strange was that instead of her reflection of the form she was in now, she was staring at herself when she was fifteen, in her pink dress, light purple shoes, and her hair a bit longer and uncut, before she tried on her new outfit the three good fairies gave her.

_**Take a step forward. Can you do it?**_

While not understanding what the voice was talking about, Kairi didn't have any other option. So with caution, she approached the mirror as her other self reflection did the same. Once she approached it, the Princess of Heart tilted her head slightly to the side in confusion. She carefully reached forward to touch the smooth glass, only to be suddenly pulled through. She shrieked as she went through the mirror and suddenly felt herself changing shape.

Regaining her balance, Kairi looked at herself and once again was stunned in shock and confusion. Now she was back to her fifteen/sixteen year old self. What was going on?

Just then, a glimmer of light formed in front of her, and as Kairi looked up, she saw her Lucky Charm floating, much to her surprise. What was that doing here? She was certain that she gave it back to Sora, to protect him on his journey. She remembered the first time she gave it to him and made him promise to give it back to her, and he kept to his promise. It gave him luck, and that was part of the reason why she gave it back to him.

_**A heart of light creates protection, connection, entwined bonds. Share it with the one close to your heart. Bond with it and your light will always guide you and bring whom you cherish most, with the same power to save those who are lost, and those who ceased to be.**_

Kairi was certain that the voice was talking about Sora, and for some reason it made her blush heavily, but she tried to shake it off. Instead, she approached her Lucky Charm and gently picked it up. It turned into an orb of light before vanishing, and her Keyblade appeared in her hand, surprising her even further.

_**Before you open the door, there is more to do.**_

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked, as she turned to look up only to notice a figure appear before her. The figure was short, with gray hair tied up in a bun, a white puffy shirt with a long purple skirt dress, and an apron. Kairi's heart fluttered as, while she still hardly remembered much of her past, since being inside Sora's heart, some of her most cherished memories had come back to her.

"Grandma?" Kairi whispered, running towards the figure of her grandmother before stopping, not sure whether this is real or not. "Is that...really you?"

Rather than answering her question, Kairi's grandmother instead questioned in her unforgettable gentle and kind voice. "_Dear child. What do you cherish most?_"

"Huh?" Kairi blinked, confused before thinking about it. While it was an odd question, she thought hard before coming up with an honest answer. "All of my friends. Especially...Sora." She blushed a little and softly gasped that she blurted that out.

Just then, her grandmother vanished before Kairi could do anything which made her gasp before sighing, realizing that it was just an illusion. She then noticed another figure appear and turned to see...Aqua, who was standing there with a warm smile on her face as well.

Confused, Kairi approached the older woman and gazed at her. "Are you...Aqua? Why are you here?"

Like her grandmother, however, Aqua didn't answer the question. Instead, she kindly asked back, "_Kairi. What is it that you are most afraid of?_"

'_Wait...how did she know my name? Have we...met before? I don't remember._' Kairi thought to herself, once again confused. Then, thinking about Aqua's question, she found that this was easy enough to answer. So she looked back at her and replied. "I'm scared of losing everyone important to me."

And like with her grandmother, Aqua disappeared as though she wasn't there to begin with. Kairi could only stand there in confusion, only to sense another figure appear to her left. This time it was a girl that resembled to her, except her hair was blonde, over her shoulder, and she wore a white short dress and sandles. Kairi recognized her instantly.

"Namine?" Kairi blinked, approaching her Nobody. "It's you. What's happening?"

"_Kairi...What do you really want most?_" The blonde haired girl gently asked with a small kind smile, even though there was sadness in her eyes.

'_More questions...This is very strange._' Kairi thought to herself, then thought about how to answer it. What she really wanted was to help her friends, help Namine become her own person, help Lea reunite with Roxas and remember the black-haired girl, and restore Isa, to keep Sora and Riku safe, to be with all of them for a brighter future. But she found that she had to choose one of those options in her mind, and it made her heart ache. It wasn't really fair to choose one over the other.

In the end, she had to choose, and while she wanted to help Namine, she had at least try and make her understand that she is included in needing to be saved.

"I...I want to...I want to help everyone...Sora, Riku, Axel...everyone. Even you." Kairi finally responded, with determination in her eyes and within her heart. As half-expected, Namine vanished into light, leaving Kairi on her own once more.

Just as she was about to wonder what to do now, Kairi noticed another glimmer of light and an castle-like part of doors appeared. Confused and curious, Kairi approached it before stopping half way, and jumped slightly when she heard the voice again.

_**Through the door, your heart will bond the final chains of your connection, to the one who is your light, just as your are his. Open it with your Keyblade. But be forewarned...A dark heart wishes to create a new light, by perishing all others. Don't be afraid, and go forth...**_

Kairi was still suspicious about this, but none the less nodded. She summoned her Keyblade and held it out. A beam of light shot out and hit the doors, opening it as a bright light shone through. Despite being told not to be afraid, Kairi was still nervous. She slowly stepped into the door in the flood of light...

* * *

_Sora's Station of Awakening..._

Shielding her eyes slightly, Kairi lowered them as the light dimmed. She softly gasped as she looked around, now finding herself on another glass platform which had a giant picture of Sora's fourteen year old self, seemingly asleep with the Kingdom Key in his hand. There was also a picture of her fourteen year old self, as well as the fifteen year old version of Riku, and even Donald and Goofy.

But what was also strange as she looked down, that it was somehow covered in water. Kairi took a couple steps back, before looking up and saw, to her surprise and relief, was Sora, the same as she last saw him and unlike the illusions of her grandmother, Namine and Aqua, Sora seemed to be slightly confused himself, as though he had no idea what was going on either. The two of them smile in relief.

But just as Sora was about to approach, he looked down and noticed that the water was receding. Kairi noticed this too and suddenly sensed the dreaded feeling. She looked behind her and saw that a huge tidal wave was reaching it's pinnacle. Kairi gasped and turned to make a move to run, but something was holding her back, as though she was somehow glued to the floor.

Frightened, Kairi reached out in desperation to him. "Sora!"

Sora gasped, horrified before he screamed out, "Kairi!" and ran quickly to try and reach her, his hand held out with a look of desperation of his own.

Time seemed to slowed down even though the waves didn't. The two teenagers desperatedly reached out for each other as Sora was so close and yet still so far away, and Kairi felt the moisture of tears forming in her eyes. Just as their hands were inches from touching, the wave crashed down onto them, not giving them time to even scream. Kairi felt herself being pulled up after having shut her eyes, before opening them and saw Sora spinning backwards in the water before he stopped himself.

Kairi continued to try and desperately reach out to him as Sora began to swim towards her, but she ended up reaching the surface first against her will. She gasped for air, before finding herself standing on the water's surface. She looked around and saw that there was now nothing but a blue clear sky and white fluffy clouds above her.

The more this unusual event was happening, the more afraid she felt. Even worse, Sora...he must've drowned by now. Kairi felt her heart ache, but just as she was about to cry in devastation, she saw his form emerge from the water and her eyes widened as Sora resurfaced with a gasp of his own, and now stood on top of the water himself as he looked around, just as confused as she was upon seeing this place at first.

"Sora!" Kairi joyfully exclaimed, getting his attention as he noticed her.

"Kairi!" Sora happily replied, as he and the Princess of Heart ran towards each other and met in the middle. Kairi immediately hugged him tightly around his lower waist, the same way she did when they finally reunited in the World that Never Was. It felt like a dream, but at the same time, it felt so...real. Because she felt him return the embrace, neither one willing to let go.

"I thought you drowned..." Kairi whispered, softly and desperately trying hard not to cry.

"Wait a second. You mean you're...actually here?" Sora asked, sounding confused, with a note of concern the moment she started crying.

"Huh?" Kairi blinked, as she and Sora reluctantly let go of each other and stared at him in confusion. "Of course I am. Wait, so you're not an illusion?"

"Huh? I thought you were the illusion in my dream." Sora replied.

"Your dream? So...this is just a dream? What's happening?" Kairi asked, as she and Sora looked around their surroundings again. So this was just a dream? That certainly explained why so many strange things happened since she passed out.

"I have no idea." He honestly responded, folding his arms to his chest. "One minute, Donald, Goofy and I were confronting this guy named Marluxia who's with the real Organization and stopping us from saving a girl named Rapunzel who apparently is the light of her world, and then the next he used this weird magic and I passed out."

Kairi couldn't help but gasp in shock when she heard this. The Organization had put Sora into this state? Did that mean that...they were both sharing the same dream? "Are you okay?"

"I think so. What about you? How'd you get here?" Sora replied.

"I think I...was too exhausted and passed out." Kairi somewhat sheepishly replied. "Axel and I were training and well...it's a very long story. Because the next thing I knew, I was in the most strangest place." Then remembering how she passed out, she couldn't help but lower her head in worry. "I hope he's okay."

Before Sora could ask any further, the entire strange area brightened in light, alarming him and Kairi as they looked around. The two shared another glance before they saw each other beginning to fade out and become covered in light. Becoming horrified on what was happening, the two quickly reach out for each other, before Kairi's vision went white.

Unaware that she and Sora were waking up from their shared and connected dream. Which will become very important for both their tasks ahead of them.

* * *

**A/N: I am aware that the ending of the Pranksters Paradise arc in the Timeless Realm will be short, so I'll try to extend it in the next chapter so that way it won't become too short. Which was why I added Kairi's own station of awakening, which is what Sora saw which will be explained after Riku and Mickey's next Disney World adventure.**

**(1) Couldn't resist in having Nemo, Marlin and Dory from "Finding Nemo" make cameo appearances.**

**See you then!**


	24. Chapter 23: Growth of the Heart

**A/N: This chapter will conclude the Prankster's Paradise Arc! And to Disney Boy: Thanks for the review, but for your request, I'm gonna have to figure out how to do that, sorry.**

**Until then, happy reading!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 23: Growth of the Heart.

She had no idea how long she'd passed out, but Kairi was certain that it must have been a bit of a while. Because as the world began to return to her, she gave a soft moan before her eyes began to blink open, and her vision began to clear. Then almost instantly her memories returned of what happened. Including the strange dream she had...and the unusual dream contact with Sora which made her worry. Was he alright back in the Realm of Light?

But as she slowly sat up, and that she was the way she was before passing out, the still unconscious figure of Lea made her blood run cold. Ignoring the shivering of being wet and cold, Kairi approached him, and shook him by the chest.

"Axel? Axel! Wake up, please!" Kairi pleaded.

To her relief, Lea gave a soft groan as consciousness returned to him. The redhead blinked his eyes open, and briefly wondered where he was. As his vision cleared, the first thing he saw was a worried and relieved red haired girl in pink hovering over him.

"Kairi?" Lea murmured, before his memories of what happened came back to him almost instantly and he gasped. He sat up quickly and softly exclaimed, "Monstro!?"

"It's okay. He didn't get us." Kairi quickly reassured, a bit startled at his out burst.

Seeing and realizing that she was right, since Lea had half-expected to be inside the whale's stomach(which made him shiver at the very thought), and instead saw that they were on a shore of a beach of...somewhere, he sighed in a bit of relief. Then he blinked in confusion; he remembered spinning out of control and then lost consciousness. The rest was blank.

"How'd we get here?" Lea turned to his friend.

Kairi looked around and saw that it wasn't the beach she remembered dragging Axel onto, but an odd twisted island that looked a bit of a mix of a tropical jungle, Pleasure Island and a twisted formation of a tunnel up ahead. Did they end up captured by the Organization after she passed out? That made her shudder a bit.

"Well, you hit your head against a rock when Monstro knocked us over, as he was chasing Pinocchio and the fish. I don't know what happened to them or Jiminy, but I had pulled you out and brought you to the shore, and then...I passed out in exhaustion. I don't where we are right now." She eventually replied after a moment of tensed silence.

Lea sighed, as realization and dread formed. "If I'm gonna guess, I'd say the poor kid's been eaten too by now, and so has that little cricket guy."

Kairi felt her heart drop to her stomach, as the thought hasn't really occured to her. They failed...they'd been unable to save Geppetto and now Pinocchio was in the belly of the whale. On top of that, neither she or Lea had any idea where they were or how to get back to the world they were in. If only she hadn't passed out, maybe they would've done something to prevent this from happening. She lowered her gaze as the coldness of the situation began to engulf her. She'd known it wouldn't be easy, but she'd been so focused on saving Lea that she didn't even think.

"...I'm sorry. This...is all my fault." Kairi murmured in guilt.

"H-hey, whoa, whoa! This isn't your fault, Kai'!" Lea quickly protested, his eyes widening in panic as he could see the first few signs of tears of guilt in Kairi's eyes, that she looked ready to cry but was trying to hold it back. "C'mon, we'll figure somethin' out, 'kay? Seriously, calm down...Please?"

"Sorry." Kairi muttered, quickly wiping away the moisture that began to form, taking a deep breath to calm down. "It's just I...I feel awful because I let you down again. I promised that I wouldn't make that mistake like the last time."

"Who says that you did?" Lea queried, a bit puzzled before realizing that Kairi still blamed herself for falling for Maleficent's trap. Poor kid must still be traumatized and was trying to toughen herself up. He smiled softly as he pointed out, "You saved me from being eaten by her dragon-self, and saved me from being on that overgrown fish's menu too."

Feeling a bit embarrassed as Kairi looked at him, Lea looked away slightly as he blushed a little, saying sincerely in a voice so soft that she almost didn't hear him. "So...thanks."

Kairi was surprised to hear this, then realized that he was right and despite the situation they were in, it actually started to make her feel a bit better. She smiled as she replied, "You're welcome. Besides, you saved me a few times, though I think I still owe you another rescue." before teasingly adding, "Got it memorized?"

"You actually counted?" Lea chuckled as he looked back at her, which made her giggle as well.

"Well, someone has to." Kairi giggled. The two of them laughed even though they were stuck somewhere, but soon they realized that they won't let that stop them. Once they ceased their laughing, the two Keyblade Wielders stood up, with renewed determination.

"So, let's try and get outta here and save those guys. Whaddya say?" Lea declared.

"Yep. I'm in." Kairi nodded in agreement, just as she and Lea both sensed movement and turned into the direction of the jungle and found to their annoyance that there were more Heartless that appeared. They grunted as they summoned their Keyblades, as Kairi yelled. "Go away!"

The two of them fought long and hard against the Heartless that attempted to attack them, but even with more appearing, both Kairi and Lea eventually defeated them almost at ease. To which as the last of the Heartless were gotten rid of as Kairi slashed it downward, the unusual area shifted around them like a distoration, before they sensed something behind them and turned to see that a portal of light appeared on the beach.

"Where did that come from?" Kairi wondered aloud.

"Not a clue. But maybe it's another test we had to take to get outta here?" Lea shrugged, just as lost as she was.

Even though they had no idea on whether that was the case or not, Kairi and Lea shared another look before agreeing to take the risk. So the two of them carefully stepped into the portal of light to which the unusual dimension began to disappear behind them...unaware that Saix was witnessing them from behind a few trees before scoffing and then vanished into darkness.

* * *

Back on the mini island, Kairi and Lea emerged from the portal of light with a bit of a stumble before turning to see that as soon as they got out, it disappeared. The two of them shared another glance of confusion before hearing the squawks of seagulls, causing them to turn around and saw, to their slight fear and anger, was Monstro who continued to rest on the water in a short distance.

"Pinocchio and his father are in that thing. We have to save them." Kairi said with determination.

"Yeah, but, how to do we do that without him swallowing us?" Lea pointed out. "One food goes in, it doesn't come out." Before adding sarcastically. "Unless ya' make him sneeze."

But just as the words went through his lips, to his and Kairi's confusion, dark, thick smoke began to slowly flow out from the whale's blowhole. Even Monstro noticed because he sniffed, wondering what was going on for a moment. To Kairi and Lea's shock, smoke then began to flow through the whale's mouth, forcing him to open it and, with some of the smoke going into his nose, began to heave and wheeze deeply.

"Uh...I wasn't bein' serious on that. I didn't even do anything!" Lea quickly said, holding his hands up in defense.

"You didn't...I think there's a fire inside him somewhere!" Kairi exclaimed in shock and worry, before gasping as she and soon Lea noticed Jiminy in an empty bottle right at the mouth. "Jiminy!"

Lea looked around quickly for anyway to get up to Monstro despite the risk of being eaten, and then noticed a piece of large wood from what he suspected was a ship that became wrecked some time ago. "Kairi! Let's use that!"

Kairi saw what her friend was talking about, and after quick realization, nodded. The two of them rushed over and after testing it with their weight, thankful that it was thick enough that it wouldn't let them sink, began to row towards the giant whale with pieces of broken wood as paddles, even with the water being sucked in. Even as they reached the currents that were being swallowed, their eyes widened as they saw, to their relief, was Pinocchio, along with an old man whom they guessed was Geppetto, along with Figaro the cat and Cleo the goldfish in the fish bowl, on a raft of their own and paddling fast.

They could also see tale signs of fire on a house boat behind the group and realized that Pinocchio must have come up with an idea.

"I think they made the fire to force Monstro to free them by sneezing." Kairi realized.

"...Uh-oh!" Lea gasped, seeing that they were about to be sneezed away themselves. "This is gonna be a rough ride!"

True to his word, Monstro wheezed one more time before letting out a great big sneeze, which not only blew Pinocchio, his father, their pets and even Jiminy(who went in by himself before realizing at the last second and tried to catch up to them), and spun their raft, but it also blew away Kairi and Lea on their raft, causing them to scream in alarm while holding on for dear life. The two rafts spun around and around before they reached the safer part of the ocean, well out of the zone of Monstro.

They slowed to a stop, and Kairi, seeing Jiminy fly out, quickly caught him in her hands and asked worriedly, "Jiminy, are you alright!?"

"Kairi! Axel! As I live and breathe!" He replied, before saying to Monstro. "Gesundheit."

"Pinocchio! Are you all okay?" Kairi called out as she and Lea looked up. Pinocchio's group looked up as they all saw the two wielders.

"Jiminy! Kairi! Axel! We made it!" Pinocchio exclaimed back, while Geppetto looked a bit confused on who the two young people were. But then all of them heard Monstro begin to form up another sneeze and their eyes widened when they saw that the giant whale was about to do so.

"Gotta go!" Lea exclaimed, as he and Kairi both jumped on board the other more solid raft with Jiminy on the latter's shoulder, and soon the two wielders, the puppet and the toy maker then rowed as hard and fast as they could and as far away from Monstro as possible. The whale behind them let out another sneeze but they then they were a good distance away.

"How did you make him sneeze?" Kairi asked Pinocchio and Geppetto as they rowed.

"We made a fire to make him sneeze to get out!" Pinocchio quickly replied.

"I admit that it's a good idea, but makin' him sneeze would only make him mad, which is a really bad idea!" Lea praised and pointed out worriedly, and he noticed a worried look on Geppetto's face which instantly told him that the older man had thought it was a bad idea too.

Behind them, Monstro was about to sneeze for the third time until he got furious and frustrated before splasing and swallowing more water onto his face to put out the flames to stop the sneezing fest. Once he did, the whale saw, to his anger as darkness began to form around him, that four of his latest victims had somehow escaped and were now getting away along with two more people. Roaring in fury and not willing to allow his 'food' to escape, he leaped and began to give chase in terrifying speed.

The group looked back and all gasped in horror, with Kairi exclaiming. "He's after us! Hurry!"

The others didn't need further encouragement as they all attempted to row faster in hopes of escaping and reaching the shore. However, Monstro wasn't making things easier as he then dove underwater before swimming back up to swallow them once more. When they looked back, they saw that he wasn't there.

"He's gone!" Geppetto exclaimed.

"Where did he go?" Pinocchio asked, looking around.

Lea, however, suddenly knew and looked down, yelling. "Think he's gonna rise up underneath us! Brace yourselves!"

As soon as Kairi and the others realized that he had a point, they held on tightly just as Monstro emerged from underneath them, but rather than swallowing them up, instead by were catapaulted onto his back and flown into the air, screaming. Kairi and Lea were once again separated as they landed onto one of the three small islands with thuds, wincing at the hard landing. Pinocchio, Geppetto and Jiminy all landed back into the water, while surprisingly Figaro and Cleo remained on the raft which slid off the whale's back and back onto the water without losing it's two passengers.

Monstro attempted to turn around when Kairi and Lea got up and saw that the whale was about to try again in swallowing Pinocchio, Geppetto and Jiminy who once again boarded the raft. Their hearts stopping in panic, the two Keyblade wielders shared another look and knew that despite that fighting him was extremely dangerous, they had to at least try. So they summoned their Keyblades and Lea let out a loud whistle to get Monstro's attention.

"HEY!" Lea shouted loudly, which caused Monstro to stop, and looked to his left to see the red haired man wave at him, as though daring him to come closer. "Over here, you over-grown fish!"

Somewhat torn, Monstro took the challenge and began to swim towards Lea and Kairi who stood read, as Pinocchio's group, horrified and close to the shore by now, wondered what to do.

"You ready?" Lea remarked.

"Yeah!" Kairi nodded, then called out to Pinocchio's group. "Pinocchio! You, your father and Jiminy head to shore! We'll keep Monstro busy!"

"What about you?" Pinocchio asked, worriedly.

"We can't just leave you two behind!" Jiminy protested in agreement.

"We'll be fine! GO!" The Princess of Heart urged, leaving no room for argument. Reluctant, Pinocchio, Jiminy, Geppetto and the pets nodded, and Pinocchio then quickly instructed the others to row to the shores, which they did as Monstro was getting closer and closer to Kairi and Lea. The two wielders leaped out of the way to the right, narrowly missing the giant whale who missed and flew over the small island, smashing it with his tail and landing back into the water with a huge splash, almost sending them into the ocean themselves.

It also rocked the raft further towards land, and Pinocchio quickly pulled his father and Jiminy back onboard when both nearly fell off, and then they all continued on towards the land. Monstro pulled himself to a spun and did a U-Turn, roaring in fury as he glared at the two Keyblade Wielders who recovered and stood way.

"Time to teach you to watch what you swallow!" Kairi declared to the sea monster. Knowing that they had to distract Monstro from the distance as close up combat wasn't a good idea in this battle, she chanted Thunder to hit Monstro in the face, causing him to stop his own attack with a roar of pain. Recovering slightly, Monstro swam to the side to make another attack, using his tail to create a huge tidal wave in an attempt to knock her and Lea over.

They leaped and hopped onto another island while narrowly avoiding the wave but were still getting wet in the process. Lea chanted a large orb of Fire and shot it out towards Monstro's left eye, though while hit missed, it still hit the whale underneath the eye, causing more damage. It only made him made as Monstro roared once more, heading towards them. Kairi used her Flower Shoot on the forehead, before she and Lea dodge-rolled out of the way once more to avoid another attack when Monstro, getting injured but recovering, leaped and almost engulfed them as he opened his mouth wide.

Lea used this to use his Fire Abilities to set his Keyblade into flames and then tossed it at Monstro's side, doing more damage as the giant whale roared in pain while landing back into the water. The Keyblade returned to normal as it returned to him which he caught expertly before noticing that they were several barrels that were left abandoned by shipwrecks and an idea formed into his mind.

"Kairi!" He called up. "On my signal, whack these barrels as I set them on fire and aim them towards Monstro!"

Kairi quickly the idea and nodded. The two then saw that Monstro turned once more and glared at them, then began to opened his mouth and both of them realized that he is trying to suck them in. While struggling to keep their balance, Lea quickly whacked a barrel above him and set up in flames.

"GO!" He shouted.

"Got it!" Kairi yelled back, leaped up as high as she could, and while she could being to feel herself being sucked in, Lea whacked the flaming barrel into her direction. She focused hard before whacking it hard with her Keyblade, sending it towards Monstro where it hit him directly on the top row of teeth. It exploded upon impact which made both Kairi who landed safely on the sand, and Lea realize that these barrels were explosive ones which made them both cringe. But at least it was effective, because Monstro roared before slumping, dazed.

They used this to send him back a little bit with the combined attacks of magic despite having to jug down more elixirs to rejuvenate their magic, with the combination of Pearl, Flower Shoot and different sets of Fire that Lea knew of before leaping away and onto the other small island just as Monstro, heavily damaged, regained his senses and was just as furious as he had been before. When they were now behind him, he could somehow sense it, because he slammed his tail towards them.

Kairi and Lea pulled each other out of the way, but the impact of the giant tail slamming hard onto the sand rocked the earth and sent them flying forward, screaming before landing into the water. Resurfacing, the two gasped before quickly swimming towards another island before Monstro could swim around in another attempt to engulf them. Seeing more barrels, they repeated the process and several other attacks on the giant whale a few more times before Monstro was rendered unconscious.

Kairi and Lea used this to get away and just as they were leaping off the island and swam towards the shore, they were just running up the beach of the mainland when Monstro recovered and despite the heavy damage, roared before swimming towards them, his mouth opened wide in a final attempt to make another wave and swallow them.

"He's coming back!" Kairi screamed, unable to believe that the giant whale was still attempting to eat her and Lea.

"Look out!" Lea shouted, standing in front of Kairi to use himself as a shield. Just as they were about to become engulfed and shut their eyes to brace themselves, Monstro was suddenly blown away by a powerful berserk power of wind that sent him flying backwards half way across the ocean and landing back into the water far from the mainland with a massive splash. The giant whale resurfaced and, realizing that he was too far to reach his victims now, growled low before deciding that it wasn't worth it. He then sank into the bottom of the ocean and swam away back to where he belonged to recover and to engulf more fish and more ships in the future.

Hearing the pained roar and realizing that they were alright, Kairi and Lea looked up and saw, to their shock, disbelief and suspicion, it was Saix who, his hair flowing a bit with an aura around him, had his Claymore out in a crouched position before standing up, and his berserk mode fading for the time being.

"Isa?" Lea gasped, eyes wide in disbelief. He and Kairi couldn't believe it. His former best friend, having become his enemy siding with Master Xehanort, had just saved him and the Princess of Heart? Why would he do that? Didn't Xehanort wanted them both dead?

Saix turned around with his usual cold expression, stating in what some of the original Organization members would dub as _"Saix-Lecture"_, "Unbelievable. You two attempted to escape without making sure to finish that over-sized fish off? You have become just as reckless as Sora."

"Why did you save us?" Kairi asked, suspiciously as she and Lea glared at the blue-haired man. He couldn't have saved them because he switched sides or that he felt like it. There had to be a terrible reason for this.

"In order to correct the balance of light and dark, you two are part of the balance needed necessary. Seven guardians of light and thirteen seekers of darkness. Or perhaps, just seven hearts of light, whether you and the other Princesses are needed in case Sora fails to find the remaining guardians." Saix explained.

"So you saved our butts so that you can kill us in the Keyblade War later on, right?" Lea said angrily as he folded his arms. He then grumbled sarcastically, "Well, thank you for saving us a room for oh-high-and-mighty-Xehanort to cause a mass destruction to the multiverse."

"You have certainly trained well. Yet are you sure you can handle the rest of your trial on your own from here on out?" Saix replied, ignoring Lea's sarcastic comment.

Lea scoffed. "What? So now you're the judge? Who died and made you teacher? You messed up with our test from the beginning, under Xehanort's orders!"

"Consider it pay back, for preventing us from gaining our final vessel." Saix replied. "Let's see how far you have time."

Kairi was about to summon her Keyblade to fight, when Lea held out an arm to stop her. She looked up and queried, "Axel?"

"Don't." He muttered, not taking his eyes off his former friend. "I've got this."

"But..." She began.

Lea gave her an reassuring smirk, before turning back to Saix and summoned his Keyblade once more, walking up towards him a couple of steps before stopping. The two former friend stared at each other for a moment, before the blue haired man smirked coldly at him.

"Shall we get started, Lea?" He queried, sounding rather amused.

"With pleasure." Lea replied in a cold tone of his own, standing in a fighting stance with Kairi standing behind him, only being able to watch in worry. The two men then charged and clashed, Keyblade and Claymore meeting in the middle when they leaped into the air. The weapons clanged loudly as the two struggled to over power one another.

They then leaped back in equal timing before Lea and Saix charged once more, clashing against one another and dodging each other's attacks. The redhead though was almost sliced in half by the Claymore but managed to leap away quickly and then tossed his Keyblade which was in flames at the blue haired Nobody. But Saix, despite leaving an opening, quickly blocked the attack and sent the Keyblade back which Lea caught in mid-air. The two then clashed once more and Lea was close in slashing the other man's chest, but Saix moved aside to dodge it.

He then created another gust of wind with a might swipe of his weapon, and Lea quickly had to hold up his Keyblade in front of him to stop himself from being blown away even though he struggled against the powerful winds. As the winds died down, the redhead panted hard, quickly realizing that, in the admist of fighting Monstro, he was getting quickly exhausted and to his horror, meant that if he lost now, then Saix would no doubt kidnap Kairi for Xehanort. He mentally hit himself in the head for falling for Saix's trap. He had to do something to keep her safe, or else Xehanort had already won the war before it even started.

As he looked up, Lea quickly blocked more of Saix's attacks when the latter raced over and clashed and slashed at him hard and despite Lea deflecting and blocking each attack, he was stepping backwards with no room to counter attack. Though the redhead did manage to cast fire onto his former friend which forced him back. Lea tried to block Saix's claymore again, but was knocked back just as he raised his Keyblade to block it, and was knocked backwards screaming before crashing onto the sand hard, hissing in pain. He could hear Kairi gasp in horror as she saw what happened.

Exhausted and left with no time to get up, Lea could only glare up at Saix who approached him calmly, raising his Claymore for the killing move, shoving it downward to stab him.

"Nooo!" Kairi screamed in horror and distraught, reaching out even though she knew she wouldn't be able to save Lea. She knew she should've joined in the fight, but Lea had insisted that he would be fine.

Lea shut his eyes tight after a panicked and horrified look in them stared up, and was unable to look, bracing himself for his bitter permanent end and at the exact wrong moment, the familiar painful jolt hit him in his mind that made him wince, and for a brief moment, he saw another lost memory...one that briefly thought for a moment would be his last...

* * *

_Axel was sitting on the edge of his bed in his room, in the Castle that Never Was, deep in thought. He then muttered a confused sound when he heard his door open, and Saix, uninvited, walked up to him._

_"Ever heard of knocking?" The redhead asked in annoyance at the rude invite. When he didn't get an answer to that, as usual, he decided to get to the point. "What do you want?"_

_"Tell me what Xi- has been doing." Saix told him, coldly._

_Stiffening at the response considering that Axel began to think that the blue haired man was jealous of the black-haired girl and Roxas, despite that the two men haven't been friends since becoming Nobodies, a secret which no one else knew of, he hidden it._

_"Well, how should I know? I'm not spying on her." The redhead shrugged, really not in the mood._

_"The two of you look pretty close." Saix stated._

_"So what, now I've gotta rat on my friends to you?" Axel asked bitterly, before looking away and told him impatiently. "I think you should just go."_

_The blue haired man ignored him, and instead gave the red haired man a new order, as second in command of the Organization. "Today, you and Xi- will be going on the same mission."_

_"Well, thank you, sir, for personally delivering that message to me." Axel replied sarcastically, looking back at him. Though he was glad that the previous conversation was quickly dropped. He still wished that the other guy would just go away._

_"We also need you to go back to Castle Oblivion soon." Saix added._

_"Says Lord Xemnas?" Axel queried with suspicion._

_"That castle hasn't given up all its secrets. One even he doesn't know of __its whereabouts."_

_"Even he doesn't know... You mean the chamber, right?" Axel shrugged, thinking over it, as he went to Castle Oblivion quite a number of times already, especially since after Sora and Naminé's disappearances. "We turned that place inside out. If it's there, we're not gonna find it just by looking."_

_Saix continued to gaze at him, directly into the eyes. "Then let me give you another reason. Xi- comes from the castle to which Naminé can be traced."_

_This made Axel gasp in shock, his eyes widening at the unexpected new information. The black-haired girl he and Roxas were currently friends with...came from Castle Oblivion too? He hasn't heard much of where she came from before, and only Roxas was unaware that he is Sora's Nobody...why was Saix telling him this now? What was her connection with Naminé? Let alone that weird Castle that had continious mazes that didn't seem to end with a mysterious and dangerous power on the inside._

_"The place where both Naminé and Xi- were born... It's practically calling out for you." Saix continued, unfazed by Axel's reaction._

_Calling out to him? Saix must be joking. Axel had no relations to Castle Oblivion apart from the assignment there for the first time, to handle the traitors of Organization XIII. Even though Sora and Roxas both somehow made him being able to enjoy amusement and laugh, that was pretty much it._

_"Hmph." Axel scoffed, recovering from his unexpected shock. "Whatever. As far as the castle goes, you're the one who really wants to go there. By finding the room that Xemnas is searching for... You would find out everything about Xemnas's true agenda. Am I right?"_

_"The Chamber of Repose, as well as the Chamber of Waking..." Saix responded, confirming the redhead's question. He gazed out of Axel's window to which the ever growing Kingdom Hearts hovered. "Xemnas has an agenda that he hasn't told to anybody. And we are bound to find some clues in the Chamber of Waking. And once we obtain those clues, we'll have the upper hand for our own objectives."_

_Axel mentally nodded, getting the idea. "I knew the time would come when Vexen and Zexion got in your way."_

_He then stood up and continued, "That's why I took the initiative, and cleared the way to the top for you. I can handle all the dirty work. You go all the way to the top."_

_After a moment of silence, Saix turned as he gave out final words, "You will be going on a solo mission to Castle Oblivion. Expect the orders soon." and without, let himself out while closing the door behind him._

_Once left on his own once more, Axel thought about everything he heard. How could the black-haired girl be born from Castle Oblivion too? He really thought she was from somewhere else that no one even bothered mentioning yet. Considering how it wasn't unusual since no one really knew where Demyx, Dulor, Marluxia and Larxene came from, Roxas being born from Sora, Naminé being born from Kairi, and practically everyone else came from the same world._

_From Xemnas to Axel himself and all in order in the middle: Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion and Saix. Though those memories were vague, and Axel had no memory of how he ended up as a Nobody, but at least he knew where they all came from._

_"Castle Oblivion... Naminé...and Xi-" Axel muttered to himself..._

* * *

As the memory ended, Lea could hear himself breathe shakily, both in pain and at the sudden inch of fear that crept into his heart. At first he thought he was dead, but when he realized he could still feel the sand underneath him, and his heart pounding hard within his chest, the redhead hesitately opened his eyes, realizing that he was still alive, and the tip of Saix's Claymore just inches from his chest.

Lea gazed up at Saix's cold expression, glaring at him as he realized another truth; the blue haired man knew something about the black-haired girl, and like back then, the redhead had no idea or at least didn't remember how or why she came from Castle Oblivion like Naminé. But sadly, he knew that getting answers from him about that info was a lost cause. Saix never gave helpful answers.

Kairi had her face covered with her hands as she'd been unable to look, but when she didn't hear Lea scream out in agony as they both expected, she hesitately looked up and froze when she saw that he was still alive, and Saix just stood there. The Princess of Hearts was shaken. What was going on?

"What're you waitin' for?" Lea whispered. He was where Saix wanted him, so why wasn't the latter finishing him off?

Saix just smirked, dismissing his weapon and took a couple steps back, much to Lea and Kairi's confusion.

"Huh?" Lea muttered, mystified.

"Not bad, for a new Keyblade Wielder, Lea." Saix coldly remarked. "Perhaps I should be more careful."

This only made Lea glare at him, realizing that this was all just a test to see if he could handle this. "Yeah, you'd better be. 'Cause the next time, I'll be stronger and like now, I'm not goin' easy on you." He replied.

"You were never one to pull your punches." Saix stated, taking a couple steps backwards before stopping. "Our fight today however, was one of the samples needed necessary from you and Sora."

"Samples?" Lea repeated, bewildered. What the Organization need from him and Sora?

"Before I go, I was requested by someone you know. He sends you his regards." Saix continued, ignoring the question and before Lea or Kairi could stop him, he vanished into darkness, teleporting away despite the red haired man's protests.

A long moment of silence, as Lea thought about what Saix had said; both memory and just now. Some guy that both of them knew sending Lea regards? Who was it? And what's with the sample thing?

Suddenly the answer came to him like a brick hitting him in the face and Lea's eyes widened in horror as he softly gasped in realization. No...It couldn't be...! The only one who'd do such thing was...

"Axel?" Kairi cried out, hurrying over and bend next to him, bringing him out of his thoughts. As he looked at her, she asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." Lea replied, admittedly still shaken at just how close he was in getting killed, but wasn't about to admit it. He winced slightly as he sat up, and mentally thanked Kairi when she used her Keyblade to cast Cure on him and herself. "Not sure if Saix was pullin' his punches or not, though."

"Why didn't he...finish you?" Kairi asked.

"I dunno. Probably because there aren't any other Keyblade Wielders available, I guess. Ya' know, for the Keyblade War." Lea shrugged. He doubted that it was because there was still a little bit of Isa within Saix, even though part of him told him that there still was, and that Saix may not be directly following Xehanort's orders, but he didn't want to get his hopes up. It still scared the heck out of him, though, but he wasn't going to admit _that_ either.

Still...even though he knew that Ienzo wouldn't go as far as rejoining the Organization, and the younger man had actually forgiven Lea for what he did when both of them had been Nobodies, and thanking him for saving him from becoming Xehanort's ultimate pawn, the redhead knew that Even hadn't fully recovered, and when he briefly went back to check up on them, Ienzo and the two guards, Dilan having woken up, informed him that Even was missing, but Lea had to head back here to the Timeless Realm in a hurry.

"But...I think everybody's in real trouble now." He admitted.

"What do you mean?" Kairi blinked, confused and growing more concerned.

"You remember what I said about Vexen being the scientist of the Organization?" The red haired man began and when the teenage girl nodded slowly, he continued. "Well, I uh...I eliminated him in Castle Oblivion."

"I think I remember you mention something like that." She vaguely said.

"Yeah, well, when he was restored as Even, he and Dilan were still unstable by the time I left to save King Mickey, the Queen and those other two guys from the old hag and that stupid fat guy. But then when I went back to Radiant Garden to come back here, I was told that Even went missing, but I couldn't do anything to even tell the others on what happened." Lea continued.

Kairi's eyes widened as she suddenly put the pieces of the puzzle, getting what Lea is saying. "You don't think that he's..."

"With the true Organization?" Lea finished, and nodded to confirm their fears. "Yeah, that's exactly what I think. Ienzo was a scientist too, but he at least didn't hold any grudge on me and I actually kinda like that kid. Even on the other hand, he's always been obbessed with his research he even(no pun intended) had almost literally everything written down on paper, and was creepy too. But as Vexen, he was dangerous, and given the choice, is dangerous right now."

"That means Sora's in danger...But, what did Saix mean by needing samples from you and Sora?" Kairi realized, though there was something even she couldn't understand.

Lea was about to say that he didn't know, until he remembered that memory of the converstation he had with Saix when he was a Nobody. It was related to the black-haired girl, who he remembered now was from Castle Oblivion. Just like Kairi's Nobody.

"...Not a sample from Sora, per se. But...from Roxas." He muttered in realization, eyes widening. "They're after her!"

"...The girl you're trying to remember?" Kairi asked, reading along the train of thought.

"Yeah. Just when I thought Saix was gonna kill me, I remembered; he knew where she came from. For some reason, she was born in Castle Oblivion just like Namine. I don't know how or why though, but...if she's still out there, she could be in deep trouble too." Lea nodded. The more he was thinking about this, the more the unexplainable guilt he felt ever since he started to remember her continued to grow.

He then groaned as he placed a hand to his face. "None of this is makin' any sense, though. Worst part is, we can't do a thing about it until we finish off our test here."

"Well, if Sora, Riku and the others know about the Organization doing something, they should at least know by now and are trying to solve it." Kairi suggested, and when Lea look at her questioningly, she continued. "After I passed out, I had a strange dream and...I think my heart connected with Sora's, because he told me...that he was put to sleep by someone named Marluxia."

"No way!" Lea exclaimed, shocked. "Marluxia's back too!?"

"...You know him." Kairi stated, as it wasn't a question.

"Yeah, I knew him. And his partner in crime Larxene too." Lea nodded. "Both of them betrayed the Organization, though. They're the ones who forced Namine to mess up with Sora's memories in the first place, all so they could out-do Xemnas. I pretended to be on their side so that I can deal with them, and even let Namine go so that she could help out Sora and tell him the truth. Not that he remembers."

Kairi was shocked to hear this, before placing her hand to her chest, as her heart held Namine's heart. At least it made more sense now.

"I can't believe Xehanort picked _Mister-Flower-Petals_ of all people to rejoin the ranks." Lea grumbled in disbelief.(1) Which made the situation worse, because he knew that Marluxia would be out to get him as well. Even worse, he put Sora to sleep around the same time in the Realm of Light as Kairi lost consciousness.

"...I hope Sora will be okay." Kairi muttered, her worries for one of her best friends now increasing even more. She could only hope that Sora was safe and Donald and Goofy woke him up. And if Sora was in danger again by the Organization, so was Roxas. Could they be trying to make Sora their final vessel again? She hoped not, but the reality of that thought couldn't be dismissed.

"Same here." Lea sighed in agreement. "But we can't do anything about it while we're here. The best we can do is keep goin' with our task 'til we done. Maybe Yen Sid will send us out when we get back. After all, Time here is a lot faster than back in the real world."

Realizing that he was right, which she actually forgot about, since time did not matter, Kairi nodded in agreement. So, she stood up and helped Lea up as well and as they remembered that they had to make sure Pinocchio, Jiminy, Geppetto, Figaro and Cleo were safe and sound as well, they hurried down the beach to reach the mainland.

* * *

It didn't take them long as just up on the path that lead towards the village when they reached up past the cliff the two of them and two of their friends had leaped from hours earlier, Kairi and Lea saw, to their relief, were Pinocchio's group who were obviously waiting for them. Because when the group heard Figaro give out a relieved meow, it had the rest of them see the two Keybladers approach with relief themselves.

"Pinocchio! Jiminy! Mr. Geppetto!" Kairi waved happily.

"They're okay!" Pinocchio exclaimed in relief, his conscience, father and pets waving back, while Cleo jumped up and down from her bowl in excitement. As soon as Kairi and Lea approached, the little puppet added. "We were all worried about you!"

"He's right, you know. Why, I thought that Monstro had swallowed you up!" Jiminy added in agreement.

"We were almost, but we managed to get away. I don't think we'll have to worry about him for a long while." Kairi replied.

"Personally, just hope that whale will think twice before trying to eat anybody again." Lea nodded with a confident smirk.

"It is good to see you two young people safe and sound." Geppetto stated gratefully. "My little Pinocchio has told me that you both had helped to save him. I can't thank you enough for helping us."

Lea looked shocked, before looking away with a small chuckle, thoroughly embarrassed, while Kairi giggled as she pointed out, "We were happy to help, but I think it was Pinocchio who saved you, Mr. Geppetto. He wanted to see you again."

"Aw, but I had you two and Jiminy to help me." Pinocchio said, feeling a bit embarrassed himself. "I couldn't have done it without any of you."

"Well, that's true. But you were the one who had the idea in making Monstro sneeze, and led all of us back here to safety." Jiminy said with a proud smile.

Geppetto laughed in agreement, adding as he placed a hand around his son's shoulder. "He's right. You're my very brave little boy, Pinocchio."

Kairi and even Lea nodded in agreement, which made Pinocchio very surprised, and even more bashful, rubbing the back of his head. He hadn't even thought of it; he had wanted to help his father, and had been worried for Kairi and Lea, and hasn't told a lie since after the Blue Fairy helped him and Jiminy out earlier.

"Thanks, everybody." Pinocchio sheepishly shrugged, only to being to glow in blue light, much to his and everyone else's surprise and shock. "Huh? W-what's happening?"

"Pinocchio?" Kairi, Jiminy and Geppetto asked, worriedly.

Then, all of them heard a woman's voice, to which to Pinocchio, it was like a memory. "_Prove yourself brave, truthful, and unselfish, and someday you will be a real boy. Pinocchio...you really a good and brave little boy._"

The light covered the little puppet who blinked in surprise, and right before everybody's eyes, his donkey ears and tail vanished, and he went through a new transformation. When the light faded, gone was Pinocchio's puppet body. In it's place, much to everyone's, especially Pinocchio's, amazment, was a real fleshed body of a real boy. His gloves were gone and he now had five fingers instead of two(which reminded Kairi and Lea of King Mickey, Donald and Goofy and Jiminy), his wooden nose replaced by a real nose, and his hair was soft and real as well. The only things that remained the same were his clothes, and even his shoes were now real too.

"Whoa...!" Lea muttered in awe and disbelief. Now that was a cool thing to see.

Pinocchio looked at himself in disbelief and we, and he could feel a huge difference. His new skin was soft and a bit squishy, he could really feel his heart pound against his chest and while he felt it before in his wooden body, it was now more noticable.

"I'm...I'm real..." He whispered, before happily exclaiming to his father. "I'm a real boy!"

"Pinocchio...you are a real boy!" Geppetto happily replied, picking up his son and hugged him who returned it. Jiminy, Figaro and Cleo all jumped about happily at this, knowing that Pinocchio had proven himself worthy to be a real boy, and made his father's wish fully come true.

"I'm so happy for you!" Kairi giggled with excitement, while Lea smiled, happy for such a great event. Another happily ever after despite it being an illusion, but hey, it was still happy none the less.

The group continued to celebrate until Kairi and Lea announced that they had to go, as their adventure wasn't over yet. Despite being sad the two had to leave, Pinocchio and Jiminy understood and wished them well as did Geppetto. They, Figaro and Cleo then said goodbye to Kairi and Lea before making their way back home to the workshop.

The two Keyblade wielders stood there for a while, before Kairi commented in realization. "Strange. We didn't see any memories of this world this time. I wonder why."

"Hmmm...Maybe it only occures when a Keyblade wielder was in the real version of a certain world and show it to use since we're both in that catagory now." Lea shrugged, which to him made a bit of sense. Which meant that no Keyblade Wielder even visited this place.

"...You're right. The real Jiminy met us after his and Pinocchio's world was lost into darkness for a while and it happened around just before the Islands was lost too." Kairi agreed after thinking about it.

"Well, at least it's back for real and it played out differently here, so that's a plus, right?" Lea commented.

"Yeah." Kairi nodded with a smile, which he smiled back. While neither knew what the Organization had really planned, they could only keep going and then slowly learn the truth and figure out how to stop Xehanort from ambushing them like he did with Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery.

Kairi and Lea then heard a twinkling sound which made them look to a nearby boulder settled by a tree, and like in Enchanted Dominion, a Keyhole appeared. Realizing what to do, they both approached it and with a nod of agreement, summoned their Keyblades and held them out. Beams of light hit the Keyhole which glowed brighter and not only made a locking sound, it also revealed an entry point of light, their exit from this world, and entry to the next step of their journey. With that, Kairi and Lea carefully stepped through as the light shone brighter, filling up the area as they soon left the illusion of Pranksters Paradise, and onward to the next illusion world.

Unaware that Saix had witnessed the entire event from nearby.

"So it's true. Even puppets can grow real hearts and become real people. They are not different from Nobodies." The blue haired man remarked, before vanishing into darkness once more, back into the Realm of Light as he knew he couldn't linger here any longer.

But at least it confirmed his suspicions and finally had shown him the truth.

* * *

From another part of the illusion world, Madam Mim had seen what happened and was not happy. The Princess and the former Nobody had escaped her spell! This was impossible! Even worse, they were now on their merry way to another world.

"Ooh, I don't believe it! Those litlte brats!" She grunted angrily. She then pouted and decided that she needed to step up on her game, even if it was against Saix's wishes, but she didn't care. She was made to be bad, and she was going to do what she did best, whether people liked it or not.

"Well, two can play at that game! Merlin's apprentices will not be getting out of this that easy!" Madam Mim declared, before once again teleporting away with her black magic once more.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the Realm of Light within the Keyblade Graveyard, Ansem the Wise was forcefully scanning through scattered pieces of paper against his will, with a look of guilt and regret on his face, and in his eyes. Since being forced out of the Realm of Darkness, leaving Aqua to fall deeper into it after she sacrificed herself to save him, he was in the clutches of the true Organization XIII.

Just then, behind him, Xehanort's Heartless once again appeared as he approached the older man who sensed his presence, and turned to glare at him.

"Time to leave, Ansem the Wise." 'Ansem' informed him with a dark smile.

"To where now?" Ansem the Wise questioned bitterly.

The fake Ansem chuckled as he walked closer, giving out one answer that made the real Ansem's blood run cold.

"Twilight Town."

Twilight Town...where Roxas was forced to return to Sora.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize that this chapter seemed rushed. Did my best here, and as such, I also changed the ending of the Pinocchio movie for a more lighter way for him to become a real boy(at least here in the Timeless Realm, since in the credits of KH1, he never died and became a real boy anyway while the real Jiminy remained with Sora's group and started to live in Disney Castle). I also based the Monstro fight on the Mirage Arena bosses from "KH: Birth By Sleep-Final Mix".  
**

**(1)"Mister Flower Petals" is what Axel calls Marluxia in the Manga version of "KH: Chain of Memories".**

**Now that the Pinocchio Arc is finished, next time we return to Riku and Mickey...in a Disney World where a generous thief steals from the greedy rich and gives to the kind and generous poor. I'm sure you guys can figure that one out.**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	25. Chapter 24: Trouble in Nottingham

**A/N: Welcome back to yet another chapter as we now enter another Disney World that was never in any of the Kingdom Hearts games. And don't you worry guest reviewer, there is more to come and well, Merlin will be involved again and I'm already one step ahead...I just have to get to it first. ^_^;**

**All righty, let's continue onward!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 24: Trouble in Nottingham.

In a quiet, oak-like woods that had a different feeling compared to Jamestown much, much earlier, birds chirping in the trees on a nice sunny day with wild flowers and such, Aqua had just emerged from the Corridor of Darkness which disappeared behind her as she gazed around her new surroundings. Things were relatively peaceful, which sent a surge of hatred in her corrupted heart. Not much to do around here, even though she could feel light within many hearts, as well as darkness in others.

But that was about it, as it also held a non-humanity feeling to it. As she peered through the thickness of bushes and trees, she was just in time to hear a commotion happening. Down to her left, she saw two figures, one a shortish red fox in a blue dress, green material shoes, golden earings and a black wig and a red royal robe, and the other a taller one, a golden-furred plumped bear with a blonde wig and red and pink dress, were running down the road. The shorter one was carrying a couple of large sacks which made chingling sounds.

"Oo-de-lally! Oo-de-lally!" The fox hollered in a fake girly voice with a smirk.

"Fortunes forecast, lucky charms!" The bear, not faking his voice at all, added while waving a goodbye to someone, making Aqua realize that theses two, who were running past her unnoticed, and into the thickness of the trees, were thieves in disguises.

"After them, you fools!" Another male voice, sounding rather angry, shouted.

Aqua looked and just about few seconds later, saw a large group of large Rhino Guards attempting to chase after the thieves. There was another bunch behind a golden royal carriage, carried by two Elephants. It wasn't long before Aqua realized that like Disney Town, this world had anthropomorphic animals. At least in most parts. The wheels of the carriage suddenly became loose and fell off, causing the now wheel-less carriage to hit the ground, and an anthropomorphic lion wearing nothing but long johns and a crown fell out, along with a non-anthropomorphic snake wearing a red small cloak and a hat. Both of them landed into the muddy ground, and were trempled over by the rest of the guards who along with the rest of the royal servants were unaware that they left the lion and snake behind.

The lion, named Prince John, realizing that he had been robbed and tricked, pounded the ground and kicked his legs, having a childish temper tantrum. "No, no, no! No! No!" He cried.

"I knew it! I knew it! I just knew this would happen." The snake, named Sir Hiss, complained in sheer annoyance, having known but was ignored. "I tried to warn you, but no. You wouldn't listen. You just had to..."

He cut himself off when Prince John, in quick and sheer anger, grabbed hold of a hand mirror that also fell out and somehow managed to survive, and held it up. Suddenly Hiss knew what the Prince was about to do and cringed back in fear, trying to warn him. "Ah! Ah! Ah! Seven years bad-!"

_**SMASH!**_

Too late, Prince John smashed the mirror onto Sir Hiss, with the snake through it and glass shattering. The poor snake gulped as he finished, slightly dazed and in minor pain. "...Luck. That's what it is. Besides, you broke your mother's mirror."

Hearing Sir Hiss mention his mother and realizing that he did a wrong thing, even though he'd been doing that a lot lately, the lion Prince wailed loudly. "Mommy!"

He then held an ear down in one hand, and sucked his thumb like a baby, and quite loudly too. Prince John kept at it for a little while while Sir Hiss shook his head in dismay, while Aqua secretly watched on with a very confused expression. How could anyone be that childish? Shaking her head, she decided to take her leave from this area at least, and silently retreated into the darkness of the trees to continue her dark mission.

Yet there was more to this world than meets the eye.

* * *

_Back with Riku and Mickey...a day later..._

After leaving behind Jamestown, Riku and Mickey once again sailed through the Lanes Between in their quest to bring back Aqua and hopefully stop her from falling into the darkness any further. Unfortunately, because of what Sephiroth had done and they and Cloud had been certain he had told her lies in order to increase the darkness, it was becoming more difficult already. On top of that, they also came to a conclusion that the Organization are after random hearts of light, even though Pocahontas was a Princess of her tribe, but couldn't be listed as the Princess of Heart.

But they couldn't give up now. They had to keep going and hoped that Sora, Donald and Goofy were at least getting a bit closer in locating the Key to Return Hearts. And so they continued onward, with Mickey following his heart's guidance to where Aqua would be and even though it was continuing to fade into darkness, there was still hope because she did stop herself from taking his life. She was still there, he just knew it.

They eventually arrived in another new world neither of them had visited before, which the Gummiship scanned as "_**Sherwood Forest**_" before teleporting into a forest, not to far from a village with a large castle in the distance. But as Riku and Mickey emerged from the trees and into the town's entrance, their eyes widened in shock in just how dry everything was, and even though Riku mentally kicked himself in being the only human around here as like Mickey's homeworld, this place had anthropomorphic animals, those poor villagers looked so thinned and dried.

"What's happened here?" Riku asked, shocked as he and the King looked around in disbelief.

"Gosh, this is awful. These poor folks look like they're starvin' to death." Mickey remarked in dismay, his heart aching at the situation the villagers were suffering.

"Why hasn't anyone been helping them?"

Before Mickey could come up with a reply, they then heard a panicked scream close by. Riku and Mickey looked to their right and saw a Rooster wearing mediavel blue clothes like a jester, carrying a ukulele running down towards them in a panic.

"Help! Monsters! Friar's in trouble!" The Rooster exclaimed, running past both Riku and Mickey who shared a look and a quick realization hit them hard.

"We'd better go look, fast!" Mickey exclaimed.

"Got it!" Riku nodded, not needing his friend to say it twice. The two Keyblade Masters took off running down the road further into the village to investigate. But as they did, they were unaware of a large tubby gray fox wearing purple, red and orange with a sword was just waltzing down from the other side of the village, and, seeing the two strangers take off, raised an eyebrow.

"Well, lookie here. Two funny looking fellows going off doing something suspicious." The wolf, known as the Honorable Sheriff of Nottingham muttered to himself. Silently creeping over to the side of a building, he peered from the side and watched both Riku and Mickey continue down into the village.

He then silently and casually began to follow.

* * *

When Riku and Mickey arrived at the centure of Nottingham, there saw a light-brown badger wearing a brown robe, surrounded by Archer-Heartless with out way to getting to safety without anymore appearing.

"Heartless!" Riku exclaimed, as he quickly summoned the Braveheart Keyblade, while Mickey summoned the Kingdom Key W Keyblade, and rushed past the horrified badger whom they guessed was the one the Rooster mentioned was in trouble, and slashed two of the Heartless into nothing.

"What in heavens name?" The badger exclaimed, shocked when he saw his two unfamiliar and unexpected saviors.

"Don't worry, sir! We'll handle 'em! You just get to somewhere that's safe! Hurry!" Mickey urgently told the stunned badger who, seeing that the unusual mouse and young man were actually going to fight the monsters, nodded and ran off for a safe place. The mouse King and the silver haired young man turned their attention to the number of Heartless that invaded the streets of Nottingham.

Riku slashed and sliced through one of the Archer Heartless who shot out arrows as well as the other Archer-Heartless. Just as he finished off the first one, he had to duck and dodge-roll out of the way from the arrows and swords of the other new breed of Heartless. One arrow nearly scraped him on the arm, but he counter attacked by shooting out a Dark Firaga at three other Heartless before dashing foward and gave a semi-powerful side-slash at them, sending them flying backwards and hitting the ground, fading out from existence.

Mickey used his speed and agility to evade the arrows of the other Archer Heartless as well as the lightning strikes of the Element Heartless before he successfully attacked with the same skill, swiping at the monsters before somersaulting in mid-air several times, hitting the Element Heartless until it was destroyed. He then used his Light Spell to hit the three Archer Heartless who stumbled back in agony before finishing them off at the same time. But he didn't notice a Shadow Heartless appear that scratched him on the side as he cried out at the hissing pain. Leaping out of the way to avoid the other unexpected attacks, he slashed it several times as quickly as possible as well as the other Heartless that appeared.

In the meantime, Riku jumped into the air to take on the creepy-ball Heartless that appeared more differently than the other Heartless and avoided it's dark attacks as he slashed at it several times before finishing it off. Once he landed safely on the ground, the silver haired teenager took on the other Heartless before he and Mickey performed their team-work attack that got rid of the other Heartless who were hit by their power and unable to attack the two Keyblade Wielders. After a long battle, the duo eventually finished off the last of the Heartless, but were still vigelant until they were convinced that the last of the Heartless were gone for now.

As they dismissed their Keyblade, the badger from earlier approached them once even he saw that it was safe for now. "My word. You two young people have saved my life. Thank you so much." He said in gratitude.

"Don't mention it." Riku shrugged.

"Gosh, mister. We're just glad that you're okay." Mickey stated.

"You must be travelers. All my years, I have never seen anybody like you two. You are brave and kind. What are your names?" The badger continued, smiling.

"My name is Riku." Riku replied.

"And I'm Mickey." Mickey added.

The badger nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Riku and Mickey. I am Friar Tuck, the local clergy of Nottingham." He then looked back and forth as though expecting someone unwelcome to hear and then whispered to the two Keyblade Wielders. "I also help in distributing money to the people."

"You mean to everyone who look like they haven't eaten in a long time?" Riku queried, as he and Mickey noticed that Friar held a nervous expression and the fact that he was whispering told them that there was someone around here who obviously was behind the drought of this place.

"Yes. I'm sure you have noticed the poor people starving to death." Friar nodded.

"We sure have. But how is it that everybody all have homes but all look so hungry?" Mickey nodded with a concerned look.

"Well, it's because that-"

"Well, greetings to kindly visitors who look like fine warriors in driving off those funny black folks." An unfamiliar voice cut Friar off. The three of them look and saw the Sheriff approach them casually, and while both Riku and Mickey were startled for this unexpected welcome even though the look in his eyes and the nature of this guy made them both uneasy, Friar didn't look thrilled at all.

"Uh..." Riku muttered, not sure what to say.

"Though I'm afraid that you haven't paid the visitor tax after coming here without approaching me, the friendly tax collector." The Sheriff continued.

"Visitor tax?" Riku and Mickey both asked, bewildered. Since when there was a visitor tax?

"Now, Sheriff, have a heart." Friar sighed, shaking his head in dismay. "It's already terrible enough these poor people are having trouble surviving as it is, there is no need to tax these kind visitors who saved my life from those monsters."

The wolf on the other hand shrugged, "Yes, they sure did. But taxes are taxes, after all. Everybody has to pay. So, let's start with you, little fella."

Before anyone could ask what the Sheriff was talking about, he grabbed hold of Mickey who struggled to free himself as he was being lifted in the air. "Hey! Whaddya doin'!? Put me down!"

"Mickey!" Riku gasped, then glared at the sheriff, "Hey, let my friend down!"

But the Sheriff didn't listen. Instead he shook held the King by one leg and shook him up and down, and while Mickey had to struggle to avoid in his Gummiphone in falling out(since he and Riku were given their own earlier by Master Yen Sid), some of his healing potions, elixirs and munny fell out, the munny which the Sheriff collected and held in his free hand until there was none left. Smirking in satisfaction, he then dropped Mickey to the ground.

"Ow!" Mickey grunted, having landed on his head and flipped over to sit and rubbed his head, while Riku was then padded through his clothes despite his protests until the Sheriff dug into his potions, carelessly tossing his items(apart from the Gummiphone which was safely hidden) and pulled out his munny as well.

"Hey, that's mine!" Riku grunted, attempting to snatch his munny back, but the Sheriff held him by the chest to stop him.

"That's not nice, stealing from everybody!" Mickey scolded as he stood up, angry that the very rude Sheriff had cleaned him and Riku out of their money in a very unfair manner.

"Oh, I'm not the one stealing. It's my job to collect taxes, which hurt according to Prince John." The Sheriff said, unfazed by the protests as he put both Mickey's and Riku's munny into his own little sack.

Even Friar was displeased by this. In fact, he was furious because he began to yell angrily at the Sheriff, "Now see here, you... You evil, flint-hearted leech!"

"Now, now, now! Save your sermon, preacher." The Sheriff held his hands up in defense in a futile attempt to calm the priest down. "It ain't Sunday, you know."

With that and ignoring the angry glares of the trio, he waddled off while singing to himself proudly. Riku and Mickey were picking up their discarded items and put them back into their pockets while they and Friar continued to glare at the Sheriff's back.

"I don't know who this Prince John is, but I'm going to say that he has something to do with what's been happening here, and the Sheriff likes to work for him." Riku spoke up after the Sheriff was out of eavesdrop.

"I'm afraid you are right, son." Friar sighed, his anger fading into that of desperation and sorrow, turning back to the two travelers who had unfortunately been taxed themselves. "You see, Prince John is the younger brother of our real ruler King Richard who is much more kinder and caring. Sadly, he went away to fight in the crusades, so everyone is left in the cruelty of Prince John."

"How could this happen?" Mickey asked, worriedly.

"I wish I knew. Prince John only cares about himself. He has put everyone with such heavy taxes that they are not able to feed themselves or their families, especially the children. That's why the poor people are starving to death, because they are forxed to pay the prices, and if something isn't done soon, they will all be driven out of their homes with nowhere else to go." The badger explained.

"This is terrible." The King remarked, unable to believe or accept such a horrible thing that was happening here. The greed of Prince John was unbearable, and while Mickey was aware that not all rulers were kind, like he himself was and so was Queen Minnie, the fact that everyone was left in the hands of this place's real King's brother was devastating.

"That explains why everyone's like this. But, how do they even manage to still be here and afford the taxes?" Riku queried, mentalling agreeing with Mickey.

"Well, even though Prince John has named him a criminal, there was one kind man and his friend who help everyone survive for so long. His name is Robin Hood, who while an outlaw by taking gold from Prince John, he gives them back to the Poor to keep their hopes alive, and his fellow friend Little John and even myself have been distrubuting the gold to the people as well without getting arrested." Friar explained with a small relieved smile.

Riku and Mickey shared a surprised glance before turning back to Friar, as the teenage yound man repeated. "So this Robin Hood steals from Prince John and then gives the stolen gold to the people?"

"Well, gee, that's awful nice of 'im. I guess this Robin Hood fella wants to help everybody here in any way he can." Mickey thought. While he was aware thta stealing wasn't a nice thing to do, the fact that Robin Hood donates the stolen money back to the poor people so that they can survive was enough for him and Riku to already see that the Outlaw wasn't really a criminal at all.

"Indeed. He is such a good hearted young man, he risks his life to help the poor people everyday. Bless Robin Hood." The badger nodded in agreement, before sighing. "But now those horrible monsters are around, and it will only make things worse."

That was true. Though it didn't take the two Wielders long to figure out why the Heartless were around; the greed in Prince John's heart had already developed darkness which attracted them, and even though Aqua had yet to be found, neither Riku or Mickey felt that it was right to leave things as it should be. It was a bit surprising that this world hasn't fallen into darkness yet, but if the Heartless got to Robin Hood, then it left no hope and this world would soon disappear. Not to mention that the true Organization would use this to this advantage...if they weren't meeting with the greedy ruler already.

"We should get to the bottom of this." Mickey finally said to Riku who nodded.

"Yeah. If there are Heartless around, then everyone's in more danger than they already are." The young man agreed, turning to Friar and said. "We'll handle the monster situation and see if there's anything we can do to help."

"You will?" Friar asked hopefully, and when the two Keybladers nodded with determination, he sighed in relief. "Oh, thank you both. There should be more people like both of you and Robin Hood. There there is anything you need in return, please do ask."

"Well, actually, there was one other reason why we came here. But it'll have to wait." Riku admitted.

"We're lookin' for a friend named Aqua, who, well...hasn't been herself at all lately and right now isn't thinking right either." Mickey explained. "If ya' see her, could ya' let us know?"

"Of course. But be careful and avoid that arrogant Sheriff. Why, I'm afraid he might even ruin a child's birthday party." Friar replied. "If you wish to find Robin Hood, he should be in Sherwood Forest."

Riku and Mickey both agreed to do so while thanking the badger, and after warning him to be careful as well, the two companions decided to check around town for any signs of Robin Hood and see if they could help him. Friar in the meantime headed in another direction to secretly donate more gold to the poor that Robin Hood gave him earlier.

* * *

They searched around town while helping to save the poor people from the Heartless, and just as they were about to head over to the woods to find Robin Hood, Riku and Mickey stopped when they saw up ahead that a lightly hunched blind old man in a dark gray ragged rope, wearing a hat and sunglasses, using a stick to support his way, holding out an old mug heading towards a tree that was shaped into a house, the door open.

"That's going to make things more complicated." Riku couldn't help but remark.

"I just hope the Heartless haven't gotten into that house yet." Mickey sighed.

But just as they agreeing to check, to their dismay as they began to approach, the Sheriff was there as well and as the two wielders quickly hidden themselves against the side of the home of, what they realized was a family of rabbits, a single mother with many children, including a little girl in an orange bow and matching dress, her little brother named Skippy, who wore a blue shirt and looked very upset, and the youngest of so many siblings wearing a purple dress and holding a toy in her arms, may no older than four years old, they and the mother were shocked when the Sheriff had taken the money from the old begger.

"Well, so far it's been a cheerful morning. Keeping savin'." The Sheriff said smiling, and walked away while singing to himself once again, unaware of the glares of Riku and Mickey. They waited until he was gone before listening in, not wanting to scare the family or intrude like the wolf did.

"You poor old man." The mother sighed to the begger who realized that all of his alms were gone. She then kindly lead him to a chair. "Do come in. Come in and rest yourself."

"Thank ye, Mother. Thank ye." The old begger said kindly. "Tell me now. Did me old ears hear someone singin' a birthday ditty?"

"Yes, sir." Skippy sniffled, clearly upset which broke the hearts of Riku and Mickey. "And that mean old sheriff took my birthday present."

"Aw, poor fella." Mickey whispered with sympathy.

"Some birthday this turned out." Riku whispered in agreement, disgusted over the the Sheriff's cruelty. Taking taxes from the poor was bad enough, but to ruin a child's birthday, just as Friar had warned earlier, that was just low.

"Did he now?" The begger asked, giving Skippy a comforting back, before encouraging him. "But be a stouthearted little lad and don't let it get ya down."

As Riku and Mickey peeked through, to their and everyone else's surprise and the family's delight, the begger lifted his sunglasses and revealed that he wasn't blind at all. In fact, he wasn't even an old begger to begin with.

"Gee whiz! It's Robin Hood!" Skippy exclaimed in awe.

Pulling off his disguise, the fox revealed himself as a young fox wearing a yellow hat with a red feather, green turbs and green shoes as he proclaimed cheerfully to Skippy, "Happy Birthday, son!"

'_That's Robin Hood!?_' Riku and Mickey both thought simultaneously in surprise. Talk about a surprise visit, and on a child's birthday birthday, and having cleverly disguised himself that even the Sheriff was fooled. So this was the infamous Outlaw who was helping the poor. The fact that Skippy and his family were delighted to see him proved Friar's words.

"Tell me, young man. How old are you today?" Robin Hood kindly asked.

"Gosh, I'm seven years old. Goin' on eight." Skippy replied, smiling.

"Seven? Well, that does make you the man of the house, and I've got just the right present for you." The fox smiled, and handed over a bow and arrow to the thrilled and enthusiastic birthday boy.

"For me?" Skippy asked, accepting his new and better presents. "Gee thanks, Mr. Robin Hood, sir." Before asking his family, "Hey, how do I look?"

"Not quite like Mr. Robin Hood." The youngest sibling said thoughtfully.

"She's right." Robin agreed thoughtfully. "There is something missing."

Then he came up with an answer and snapped his fingers. "Of course!"

Robin Hood then took off his hat and placed onto Skippy's head to complete the look, chuckling. "There you go."

"Boy oh boy!" Skippy happily exclaimed, even though the hat briefly covered his eyes before he shoved it up a bit. "Now how do I look?"

"The hat's too big!" The eldest sibling tried to hide her giggles, and even both Riku and Mickey tried not to laugh.

"Shh! Mind your manners." The mother shushed her oldest daughter.

"Yes, mind your mattles." The youngest sibling scolded, even though she didn't understand the meaning of the word or pronounce it properly.

Skippy signed, slightly disheartened. But he perked up when Robin Hood reassured him with a chuckle, "Don't worry. You'll grow into it, young man."

"Oo-de-lally! I'm gonna try it out." Skippy happily exclaimed, which had both Riku and Mickey hide once more, just as the birthday boy raced out of his home to play with his new present, his eldest and youngest sisters following.

"Good-bye, Mr. Robin Hood! Come again on my birthday!" She waved enthusiastically.

Back inside the house, the mother chuckled happily to Robin Hood. "Oh, you have made his birthday a wonderful one. How can I ever thank you?"

"I only wish I could do more." Robin replied, hanging her a sack full of heaps of gold. "Here. And keep your chin up. Someday there'll be happiness again in Nottingham. You'll see."

Donning his begger disguise once more, Robin Hood then walked off as Riku and Mickey watched him leave, before deciding that they should silently leave without alerting the kind family who had been generously handed gold by the kind criminal who definitely had such a good heart, the mother thanking him once more. Once the two Keyblade Wielders were far from the home but hoping to keep an eye out on Robin Hood while also keeping an eye on the children, knowing that there were Heartless around, they fought off the said Heartless in their path that appeared.

"That Robin Hood is a swell fella. Isn't he?" Mickey spoke up.

"Sure is." Riku agreed with a smirk. "In a weird way, he reminds me a lot of you and Sora, without the having to take from the rich part."

"Yup! And since everybody trust him, we should him to help the poor people too while keeping an eye out for Aqua." The King replied, before correcting himself. "Well...almost everybody."

"Prince John and that Sheriff certainly only care about themselves. That has to be why the Heartless are here; they're attracted to those two's hearts." Riku murmured, his smirk fading into a concerned frown, and Mickey's mirrored it.

"...Or maybe it's because the Organization." The King whispered. It was another possbility, especially since Xehanort was very likely aware that Aqua was in this world somewhere as well.

"Probably. But, why here though?" Riku stated.

"Hmm...Good point." Mickey murmured, realizing that he couldn't think of a reason why Organization XIII would come here. Nothing seemed to fit in the enemy's plots at all and despite Prince John's greed, the mouse king wasn't convinced that it would get Xehanort's attention. On the other hand, they were biding their time to get to Aqua. "Let's go find Robin Hood and see if we'll find Aqua along the way.

Riku nodded in agreement, before the two friends continued down the path where they were certain that Robin Hood had taken, and hoped that the children would be safe from harms way for the time being. Unaware that they were being spied on by a figure in a black coat.

* * *

Meanwhile, Aqua had been keeping herself out of sight even though she had no idea why, though the darkness within her felt her original self was still struggling to break through it in order to reclaim her body. Though she had taken out several Heartless with Riku's Way to Dawn Keyblade, it wasn't until a castle caught her eye. Sensing light but feeling that it wasn't as strong as the light from Pocahontas's Heart, Aqua decided to investigate.

She silently approached the closed gate of the back of the castle, and hidden herself against the wall, peering through and saw, while unfamiliar to her, were Skippy, his eldest sister and youngest sister, along with a young turtle boy who wore a hat and glasses, as well as a young vixen in a pink and purple dress named Maid Marian, and a female chicken wearing a blue dress and hat named Klucky.

"...Did he ever kiss you?" The turtle boy, named Toby, asked curiously.

Marian blushed, admitting. "Well, no, but carved our initials on this tree."

She gestured to a tree in which the four children saw a heart shaped carving, with both her name as well as Robin Hood's written within it. Aqua's eyes narrowed. However this Robin Hood was, he clearly was the lover of this maiden. Yet despite the urge to summon her burrowed Keyblade, the light within her pushed it back.

'_**The cursed light...why won't it leave me alone?**_' Aqua thought to herself bitterly.

"I remember it so well." Marian sighed with a warm smile, as memories of that time returned into her mind.

"You gonna have any kids?" Skippy asked curiously.

"Oh, he's probably forgotten all about me." Marian sighed apologetically, even though it would be a wonderful thought to not only marry Robin Hood as she was deeply in love with him, but also being a mother someday, she had thought that she was forgotten.

Skippy though was optismistic, as he said while pulling out his toy wooden sword, while acting bravely. "Oh, not Robin Hood. I bet he'll storm the castle gates, fight the guards, rescue ya and drag you off to Sherwood Forest."

"Now, just a moment there, young man." Klucky pointed out with a playful evil smile. "You've forgotten Prince John."

"That old Prince John don't scare me none." The young birthday boy dismissed.

Toby though shank his head into his shell, saying nervously. "I'm scared of Prince John. He's cranky."

Klucky and Skippy then both decided to play a game and Marian decided to play along as well, with Klucky pretending to be Prince John while using a tennis racket as a sword and Skippy pretending to be Robin Hood. The two then briefly and playfully crossed 'swords', before Skippy gained a 'upper' hand and Klucky pretended to be afraid, since everyone knew that Prince John was not only greedy, he was also cowardly as well. Skippy's sisters and friend were cheering him on while Marian pretended to plea for her hero to save her.

Skippy then 'whacked' his sword onto Klucky's leg, causing the latter to hope, pretending to be in pain. "Oh! Ouch! That's not fair." Then she pretended to bawl, mimicking the Prince and even sucked her thumb after faking a wail. "Mommy!"

"That's Prince John, all right." Skippy's oldest sister laughed.

Aqua silently continued to watch the game unfold, and for a brief moment, the lighter part of her regained some control, which was why she softly gasped and her eyes widened as she saw a memory flow into her mind...from many years ago.

* * *

_Aqua's Memories..._

_It's been at least a few months since Ventus, whom both Aqua and Terra had been calling him Ven to keep him company and wanting to be his friend, had arrived. All three of them were out on the courtyard and while Ven had still yet to fully redevelop as a normal boy, at least he'd been training hard and was now sparing with Terra with fake wooden swords, with Terra holding his hand-made wooden Keyblade._

_Aqua watched on, and so far she saw that Ven was getting better despite her worries over him, and didn't want him to get hurt. Since he came, she developed an inner big sister and overly protective mother instincts._

_"Giving up already? C'mon, Ven. I thought you were stronger than that." Terra teasingly scoffed after he knocked him over._

_"Ven, you almost had him. Just try it again!" Aqua encouraged the boy._

_"Hey wait, you're teaming up now?" Terra pouted, staring at her incredulously even though he was only kidding._

_Another memory..._

_After the sparing, the three of them sat on the edge of the courtyard, staring out into the mountains, thinking and having a conversation about Ven's improvement. Terra then stood up and boldly made a somewhat inheritance speech._

_"What's THAT about?" Aqua laughed at the cheesy lines. "Who went and made you master?"_

_"Being a Keyblade Master is all I've dreamed about." Terra replied._

_After she and Ven shared a glance, the two of them looked up at Terra once more, before Aqua responded with a warm smile. "Well, you're not the only one."_

_"I know." Terra nodded with a smile of his own, bending and held out his wooden blade to Ven, deciding that their friend would take good care of it, and he wanted him to have it. "You, me, and Ven all share the same dream."_

_Aqua smiled, as Ven smiled as well, gently taking the wooden Keyblade..._

* * *

As soon as the memory ended, and her lighter self once again struggling to break free, Aqua, hissed softly and moaned before holding a hand to her forehead, and then quickly but silently dashed away from the castle, with the two ladies and the children fully unaware of her presence as they continued to play the game. As soon as she was out of the castle's sight and near a river, darkness forming around her briefly as she breathed hard, the inner struggling becoming more conflicted than before.

"..._Terra...Ven..._" Aqua's lighter self spoke as once again light and darkness were covering Aqua's body, and, her original ghostly form appeared, panting in agony while struggling for control. Unfortunately, the darkness overtook her and the image faded once more.

Though it did leave Aqua exhausted as she collapsed onto the ground, leaning against a tree while panting, her darker self growling in anger. "**This is...ridiculous...!**"

As such, she passed out once more. Fully unaware that the same cloaked figure that spied on Riku and Mickey was spying on her from afar, and scoffed to himself under his hood.

"**The darkness is slowly overcoming that Keyblade Master. This will make things easier.**" He muttered to himself in a dark evil tone as he smirked, before teleporting away in a Corridor of Darkness that he summoned.

It seems that things here in this world was about to become even more serious as the situation is becoming more dangerous as well.

* * *

**A/N: Poor Aqua is still struggling to free herself from the darkness. But don't worry, she will be saved! Sora just has to find the Key to Return Hearts first. As such, we continue the Robin Hood Arc in the next chapter, as the movie was another one of my childhood memories.**

**See you later!**


	26. Chapter 25: Tournament Trap

**A/N: Hi, welcome back! First off, I apologize if the last chapter was a bit rushed. Secondly, I kinda want to start on Arendalle and Radiant Garden, but the former part is going to take a while.**

**So without further ado, let's continue on.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 25: Tournament Trap.

Riku and Mickey had dealt with a few number of Heartless as they continued their search for Robin Hood who, despite his disguise being easy to spot since they remembered well, somehow seemed to vanish without a trace. So, remembering what Friar had told them earlier, they ventured out of the village and into the forest in hopes of locating him and hopefully Aqua as well, even though they had a feeling they would have to fight her again and hoped that she wouldn't run off on them again, or worse, overpower them.

"Shouldn't you be focusing on your real mission?" An unfamiliar voice spoke from behind them, causing both Riku and Mickey to stop sharply in their tracks as they looked around for the owner of the voice. It didn't help that they sensed darkness, and a linger of Xehanort's heart, which made the two Keyblade Masters on alert.

"Show yourself!" Mickey demanded.

"With pleasure." The voice responded, a hint of a smirk. As Riku and the King turned to look behind them, a corridor of darkness appeared and while they didn't recoginze the man, it was Marluxia who had just arrived after informing Sora, Donald and Goofy about Rapunzel in their first re-meeting.

"Who are you?" Riku questioned suspiciously. He didn't remember meeting this guy, but from the looks of it, the pink-haired man was either Xehanort's latest victim or someone that he never met before. For some reason, the latter seemed most likely than the former.

"_...Hmph. So Marluxia's back._"

'_Huh?_' Riku blinked, confused. Where did that voice come from? It took him a moment to realize that, to his realization, that it was his replica who was saying this. Why was he talking to him now? Where had he heard that name before?

"He's gotta be with the Organization." Mickey informed the younger wielder.

"You are correct. My name is Marluxia; a, shall we say, an old aqquantice of Sora." Marluxia responded, adding with a disappointed frown. "However, he has no memory of me or of the first time we met."

It didn't take long for Riku or even Mickey to figure out what the Nobody was talking about either, as memories of what they heard and their own adventure in Castle Oblivion came back to them, especially since Sora didn't remember Marluxia at all, but the pink-haired man remembered him well enough.

"So you're the one who messed up with Sora's memories in the first place; using Namine to do so, in order to use them to overthrow the Organization by playing puppet master." Riku grunted angrily, as he and Mickey quickly both stood in fighting stances, not taking any chances.

"Hmph. You were always the clever one, Riku." Marluxia smirked, admittedly impressed with the silver haired teen's remarks. Certainly better at thinking than Sora at any rate. "It's a pity that you were in the Realm of Darkness in time Sora was in Castle Oblivion. I trust that Namine has informed you after I was destroyed."

"What? You were thinking about using me too if I was there?" Riku asked sarcastically.

"Well, you and the King are needed necessary to complete the balance of light and dark. But that is actually why I'm here to correct your agenda." Marluxia said.

"You're talkin' about the X-Blade, aren't ya?" Mickey queried, glaring at the man.

The pink-haired Organization member chuckled. "What we seek is balance. But all you are doing is chasing the darkness that was formerally a candidate of your guardians of light. You shouldn't waste your time in locating her, because it is far too late to restore her heart to the light. Soon, she will become nothing more than a mindless puppet, doomed to forever wander the dark."

Realizing that he was talking about Aqua, both Riku and Mickey's glares grew harder as they realized that their assumptions were correct; Aqua was now in the risk of becoming Xehanort's vessel if she wasn't turned back to the light soon. Which means that they'll be two guardians short and it's the situation with Sora almost becoming a vessel all over again. But no, despite the discouraging words that made Mickey feel like that the darkness was engulfing Aqua quicker than he thought, he still believed in their friendship, and that the real Aqua was still there.

"You're wrong!" Mickey yelled as he summoned his Keyblade. "Aqua is fighting the darkness inside her!"

"Besides which, if I was able to return to the light and so has Sora, than Aqua will too!" Riku added, summoning his Keyblade and following his friend's lead, continuing. "If you think you can fool us with your mind games, it's not working."

"You are fools. Chasing something that you have already lost, only to lose what you should really be finding." Marluxia frowned deeply, then held a sinister smile as he held out his hand, blasting a gust of wind of darkness and rose petals.

Riku and Mickey both had to shield themselves with their Keyblades while trying to keep their balance. However, Riku soon saw too late that Marluxia had somehow made himself transparent and like a phantom or a ghost, launched himself directly through the stunned and shocked teenage young man who gasped for a second. Then his mind flashed before his eyes and for a few moments saw a brief image of the Replica who was stumbling back himself, as Marluxia sneered a grin at him before going through him as well.

"_What!?_" The Replica exclaimed, before stumbling back as Marluxia then emerged from him and the real Riku who's vision returned to reality and he ended up falling backwards, somewhat shaken and tired out.

"Riku!" Mickey exclaimed in horror, before angrily turning to Marluxia who stood there calmly. The King leaped into the air and attempted to strike the Nobody for hurting his friend. But the Organization member sensed him and turned around, blocking the King's attack by summoning his scythe. The two of them clashed before Mickey was forced to leap back and landed safely on the ground next to Riku who pushed himself up slowly, panting.

"What'd you do!?" Riku hissed angrily, glaring at Marluxia who turned to face them.

"Reminding myself a little." The Nobody answered calmly. "As well as a reminder that darkness will overcome everything when one isn't careful. Hmph...Find the reminding guardians of light, and we'll take care of Aqua for you."

"You're crazy!" Riku grunted, standing up despite Mickey's worried glance.

"One more thing. I suggest you keep an eye on that outlaw, Robin Hood. Someone whom he hasn't seen in many years already knows that he has forgotten of their past together." Marluxia told them once more, ignoring Riku's commentary and before he and Mickey could stop him, he teleported away and leaving them alone in the forest once more.

After realizing that Marluxia wasn't going to perform another suprise attack, Mickey quickly turned his attention to Riku and asked worriedly. "Are you okay, Riku?"

"I'm fine." Riku nodded, even though he still felt a bit blurred and he was certain that his Replica wasn't fairing any better. "So that was Marluxia. Namine once told me that he was ruthless, and after what just happened, she was right."

"And he already encountered Sora, Donald and Goofy who don't even remember him or what happened to them in Castle Oblivion. That means they're in trouble too." Mickey stated firmly, trying to hide his concern for the trio as well.

"Not to mention Aqua. That means Xehanort is trying to stop us from saving her, and now we know that they're behind the Heartless here in this world. But what did he mean by Robin Hood forgetting someone he knew about years ago?"

"Hmmm...It could either be a trick or the Organization's helping Prince John to make things here worse, to cast this world into darkness." Mickey figured gravely after thinking about it. "We'd better hurry and find both Robin Hood and Aqua!"

Riku nodded in agreement and the two continued to race through the Forest to find the Outlaw who was really doing what his heart was telling him to do in order to help the poor people from the cruel Prince John. It wasn't long before they noticed a waterfall and as they peered from behind it curiously, discovered a hidden nook.

Stepping through the tunnel and into the opening, they soon found Robin Hood there, along with the big bear, Little John, also wearing green with a tiny green hat, and from the looks of things, he was also wearing an apron and was carrying a laundry basket. Robin on the other hand was preparing a stew or some soup in a large metal pot over a campfire.

Until the two bandits noticed the two wielders and stopped what they were doing, and jumped slightly in alarm.

"Hey! Who are you two?" Little John demanded.

"Uh, I'm Riku and this is my friend, Mickey." Riku quickly replied as he and the King held their hands up in surrender and defense, realizing that they'd both alerted and even came here without invitation.

"We're sorry for intrudin'. Ya see, Friar sent us here." Mickey added, continuing as he gazed at the fox of the duo. "You must be Robin Hood."

Robin Hood and his ally shared a confused and surprised glance, thinking for a moment before realizing that these two are new aqquantices of their friend Friar Tuck. They turned back to Riku and Mickey, as Robin then relaxed, greeting. "That's right. I'm Robin Hood, and this is my closest friend Little John."

'He didn't look little to me.' Riku thought to himself as he and Mickey gazed at Little John who, also relaxing, gave them a friendly wave and smile. "Nice to meet you." The teenager replied.

"Same here, kid." Little John said. "So, how'd you know Friar Tuck?"

"Well, we just came to Nottingham today, lookin' for a friend when Friar was in trouble by the Monsters, so we saved him. He told us about what's been happenin' to the poor people, how Robin Hood was helping them by taking the gold from that horrible Prince John and giving them to everybody who needs it the most." Mickey explained as briefly as possible.

"Well, you're right about that." Robin chuckled. "Let me guess, he also told you about how all that happened, right?"

"Pretty much, and well, we were cleaned out of our money by that tax collector the Sheriff, due to not paying the "visitors tax"." Riku nodded.

"Visitor tax?" Robin and Little John both repeated incredulously in disbelief, before sighing in exasperation, as the former groaned. "Now he's taxing visitors too."

Little John shook his head, "I always knew that Prince John is a phony King of England, but now he's taking things too far. I'm surprised you two kids didn't get arrested."

"And I thought we saw suspicious and unusual monsters earlier recently. Had to fight some of them too, but they're unlike anything anyone's ever seen." Robin Hood added with a deep thought.

"And man, those guys are as tricky as the Sheriff or the guards." Little John nodded in agreement, "But for some reason they're not attacking Prince John's castle even though it's heavily guarded."

"They're called the Heartless, and they do much more harm to everybody, so they're very dangerous." Mickey explained, answering the thought and unasked question.

"And if the Heartless are not attacking Prince John, even with the guards, then that could only mean one thing. They're in the league with him, and the only ones who would allow him to possibly do that and rise the taxes even more..." Riku added as realization came into mind.

Mickey nodded, coming to the same conclusion. "Organization XIII."

"Heartless and Organization XIII?" Robin Hood asked, confused while Little John raised an eyebrow, dumbfounded.

"Yeah. The Organization are bad news. They command the Heartless and other monsters. Since we saw one a little while ago, we have a hunch that he could be tricking Prince John to cause even more problems for the Organization's own goal." Riku answered.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you're right, even though Prince John isn't one to fight himself." Little John shrugged, as he and Robin both thought of the situation that was already bad enough, now it was about to get worse.

"Then maybe we should join forces." Mickey suggested kindly. "It's terrible for what everybody here has to go through and we wanna help in saving them. If Prince John sides with the Organization, then that'll put everybody in even more danger, especially since they're also after our friend who, well...somethin' awful happened to her and now she isn't really herself."

"Sounds like a plan. We'd be more than happy to have you guys aboard, especially since you saved Friar earlier today, and if you like, we'll do what we can to help you find your friend." Robin Hood smiled in agreement.

"Yeah, you two sure look like good guy material." Little John chuckled in agreement.

"So, what do you say?" Robin Hood held out his hand to Riku who smiled and grasped it gently with his hand.

"Deal." Riku shook hands with him, while Mickey shook hands with Little John.

"So, while we come up with something, let's have some lunch." Robin Hood declared, which earned a heart-felt laugh from Riku, Mickey and Little John who all nodded in agreement, especially since the two Keyblade Wielders realized that they were getting a bit hungry.

_Half an hour later..._

Robin and Little John were doing their best in making their new friends Riku and Mickey as comfortable as possible which they thanked the two for, and while the fox sat near the pot and was stirring the thick stew and Little John was hanging up the laundry, Riku, and Mickey were kindly helping the latter with his chores. Though at the moment the three of them were unaware that Robin Hood was somewhat in ga-ga land, absently stirring the food while humming a sweet tune with a dazed expression.

"Hey, Rob. How's that grub comin'? Man, we're starved." Little John inqueried, only for him, Mickey and Riku to notice that there was no response.

"Uh, Robin?" Mickey spoke up.

"Robin?" Riku added.

Still no response.

"Rob? Robin? Robbie?" Little John tried, before he and the other two noticed that Robin looked like he was about to fall asleep. Finally he called out loudly, "Hey!"

Snapped out of his daze, Robin Hood blinked and muttered. "Hey, what? What did you say?"

"Ah, forget it." Little John smiled, realizing what his friend was thinking about. "Your mind's not on food."

"Just curious, what to you think he was thinkin'?" Mickey asked, curiously, and Riku also looked at Little John, curious himself.

"He's thinkin' about somebody with long eyelashes, and smellin' that sweet perfume." The bear answered with a knowing smile, and batted his eyes like a girl's, which made both Riku and Mickey realize that Robin Hood was in love with a girl...until they and Little John then noticed a smell of not perfume, but overcooked and burning food that made the latter cough.

Too late, Robin smelled it too and jumped back when the pot fizzled and over boiling. "Hey, whoa! It's boiling over!"

"You're burning the chow!" Little John scolded as he hurried over and pulled the pot from the fire and onto a rock to cool down, using a shirt to blow away the burning scent. Mickey and Riku also approached and saw what had happened.

"Oops. Guess it was a little over cooked." Mickey cringed.

"Maybe a little." Riku nodded in agreement as he peered at the contents inside the pot, coughing a little when some of the smoke accidentally got blown into his face and stepped back a little to avoid anymore of it.

"Sorry, Johnny." Robin apologized, wiping off the morsels of the food that got onto his shirt when it boiled over. "Guess I was thinking about Maid Marian again."

"Maid Marian? Who's that?" Riku asked.

"The only girl that won ol' Robin's heart even when they were kids. Everytime he thinks about her, his head is up in the clouds." Little John answered, pouring water into the pot.

"Gosh, you must've been really close." Mickey thought with a small smile, understanding where this is going.

Riku though, thought about what Marluxia had said and it made him concerned. Could this Maid Marian be the one who thinks that Robin Hood had forgotten about? If so, then it must have been years since they saw each other and while they kept each other in their own thoughts, both of them must have come to a conclusion that one another doesn't remember...and yet this just proved that the Nobody was wrong. Robin did remember her.

"She's the most beautiful and caring woman I ever met. I can't help it." Robin Hood shrugged. "I love her."

"Look, why don't you stop moanin' and mopin' around? Just... just marry the girl." Little John suggested while tossing the shirt to Robin Hood who caught it.

"Marry her?" The fox repeated incredulously, before pointing out. "You don't just walk up to a girl, hand her a bouquet and say, _"Hey, remember me? We were kids together. Will you marry me?"_ It just isn't done that way."

'_That's true. I don't think I've met anyone who'd be dumb enough to do that._' Riku thought to himself, and really, who would be stupid to do that sort of thing? On the other hand, he and Mickey both felt that they understood why Robin Hood was feeling down and hesitant about it.

"Aw, come on, Robbie. Climb the castle walls." Little John encouraged as he was stirring the burnt stew, only to notice a whole carrot as he lifted the laddle and frowned at it in disgust. After tossing it aside, he continued to his friend. "Sweep her off her feet, carry her off in style."

"He's right. Gosh, you really love her, and I'm sure she's waitin' to see you again. Why, I kinda had a similar experience myself once. Everybody deserves to be with the one they love." Mickey added, while thinking about his musketeer days that had him meet and fall in love with Minnie who'd been a Princess back then, and now they were both married. In fact, he remembered when she kissed him for the first time, and how madly in love he'd been.

"You might not get a second chance if you pass this oppotunity." Riku agreed, though he wondered if he should give the same advice to Sora and Kairi. Even though he had a feeling they would deny it out of embarrassment(though with Sora, he's completely clueless about his own feelings towards Kairi. Always has been), it was obvious that his two best friends were much closer than even they knew.

Robin though shook his head in self-discouragement. "It's no use. I've thought it all out, and...it just wouldn't work. Besides, what have I got to offer her?"

"Well, for one thing, you can't cook." Little John stated, half-teasingly as he sniffed the stew before adding a few spices to fix it all up.

"I'm serious, Johnny. She's a highborn lady of quality." Robin replied, deciding to finish up his friend's job and both Mickey and Riku went to help him even though they felt sorry for him, though they paused when, to their surprise, that Friar had silently arrived and the two greeted him with a wave and he returend it, yet both Robin and Little John were unaware.

"So she's got class? So what?" Little John shrugged.

"I'm an Outlaw, that's what. That's no life for a lovely lady. Always on the run. What kind of future is that?" The fox explained, and Friar, only just catching on on the conversation, held a sympathized expression for Robin as he realized what they were talking about.

So he made his appearance, by pointing out, which also startled Robin who stumbled back in fright and accidentally fell into the basket as he wondered where the old badger had come from. "Oh, for heaven's sake, son. You're no outlaw. Why, someday you'll be called a great hero!"

"He's right, you know. You're helping out the poor to survive and they all trust you." Riku chuckled in agreement.

"A hero, huh?" Robin chuckled, then turned to Little John. "Do you hear that, Johnny? We've just been pardoned."

"That's gas." Little John chuckled, saying half sarcastically. "We ain't even been arrested yet."

Friar chuckled as he approached the pot while saying to the two bandits. "All right. Laugh, you two rogues. But there's gonna be a big to-do in Nottingham."

"Uh, Friar? I wouldn't try that yet if I were you. Why, it's-" Mickey was too late as Friar took a sip from the stew, and winced when the priest then coughed, and teared up. "...A bit burnt."

"Well-done, ain't it?" Friar wheezed, but still had a couple more sips while changing the subject and explained to the group. "Old Prince John's havin' a championship archery tournament tomorrow."

"Archery tournament? Really?" Mickey asked, curiously in surprise. Riku looked puzzled as well. Since when did this happen?

"Old Rob could win that championship standin' on his head, huh, Rob?" Little John chuckled, hanging up his apron.

"Thank you, Little John." Robin said gratefully as he bowed while tipping his hat, then put it back on as he added. "But I'm sure we're not invited."

Friar shook his head, and pointed out. "No, but someone will be disappointed if you don't come."

"Who, the tax collecting guy?" Riku scoffed, which made Robin, Mickey, and Little John chuckle.

"No. Maid Marian." The badger answered.

"Maid Marian?" Robin repeated, his eyes wide in surprise, his heart beginning to pound. Marian was here? And she's attending the competition?

"Yeah. She's gonna give a kiss to the winner."

"A kiss to the winner..." Robin couldn't believe it. Excitement and happiness filled him. This was a chance too difficult to pass up. He then did an excited cartwheel, exclaiming. "Oo-de-lally! Come on, Johnny! What are we waiting for?"

"Wait a minute, Rob. Hold it. That place will be crawlin' with soldiers." Little John protested, concerned.

"And the Heartless will be around too." Riku added, sharing the concern.

"Aha, but remember. Faint hearts never won fair ladies. Fear not, my friends." Robin said, shooting an arrow at a handing frying pan, bouncing upward and into the air. He then threw his hat into the air as well as he concluded boldly. "This will be my greatest performance."

The arrow slipped through his hat which landed neatly and perfectly back on his head, much to the amazement of Riku and Mickey. Little John was right. Not only was Robin Hood a caring person by helping the poor in any way he could, but he is an amazing archer. Despite this, the two knew that this could be some kind of trap to capture him, especially since Prince John could be in the league with Organization XIII. They two agreed to keep an eye on the tournament tomorrow and maybe Aqua will be there as well.

* * *

The next day, the tournament was just beginning and well under way. Fanfares were heard, guards marched in the opening parade, and the villagers that had attended, including Skippy, his family and Toby(who's father was among the competitors), were lined up with flags and even balloons. In a royal box stand was Prince John, now wearing a blue royal robe, with Sir Hiss wearing a blue version of his previous clothes.

Yet what everyone didn't know was that this was all part of the duo's plan to secretly capture Robin Hood, by luring him into a trap. Not only that, but they were also informed by the Sheriff of both Riku and Mickey's appearance in taking out the Heartless, and, due to both of them being heroes, Prince John decided that he cannot allow them to have the similar popularity as the Outlaw and that they must be taken out as well.

"Hiss, this is a red-letter day. A coup d'etat to coin a Norman phrase." Prince John snickered evilly, as he took a seat in the royal which was too big even for him.

Sir Hiss sat in a stool next to him as he replied. "Oh, yes, indeed, sire. Your plan to capture Robin Hood in public, as well as lure in the two visitors Sheriff has discovered yesterday is sheer genius, even though those two have defeated those awful black monsters." He stood up grandly, only to be shoved back down by an annoyed Prince John.

"Hiss, no one sits higher than the king. Must I remind you, Hiss?" The lion Prince clicked his tongue scoldingly.

"Oh, oh, forgive me, sire." Hiss stuttered, embarrassed and nervously.

"My trap is baited and set, and then revenge." Prince John snickered, rubbing his hands in glee. He then exclaimed a bit too loudly. "Ah, REVENGE!"

"Shhhh!" Hiss shushed hurriedly, slithering around the prince as he reminded him in a whisper. "Not so loud, sire. Remember, only you and I know, and your secret is my secret." Only to accidentally hiss in the Prince's ear.

"Stop! Stop hissing in my ear." Prince John scolded after being tickled, before asking in a bit of confusion. "Secret? What secret?"

"Why, the capture of Robin Hood, sire." Hiss answered, slithering back into his seat.

Hearing the name of Robin Hood and reminded of how many times that thief has ruined each of his plans, Prince John growled angrily, a slight mist of darkness forming around him before fading as his temper was more childish. "That insolent blackguard. Oh! I'll show him who wears the crown!"

"I share your loathing, sire." Hiss agreed calmly. "That scurrilous scoundrel who fooled you with that silly disguise, who dared to rob you and made you look utterly ridiculous..."

However, the more he was saying this, the more angrier and far annoyed Prince John was getting, until the lion couldn't take it anymore and snarled, "ENOUGH!"

But when he tried to whack him, the snake dodged out of the way in fear, which annoyed Prince John even further. "Hiss, you deliberately dodged."

"But, but, sire, please." Hiss muttered nervously, cringing back low.

"Stop sniveling and hold still."

Realizing that he wasn't going to get out of it and he didn't want to anger him any further, Hiss winched and closed his eyes and stood still as he was commanded...and was bonked hard on the head that squashed his hat and caused it to cover his eyes.

"...Thank you, sire." The snake muttered.

Yet unaware to everyone, Aqua, recovering from yesterday, was hiding behind a stripped tent while observing the whole thing and her eyes narrowed when she could sense more light, as well as the presence of Riku and Mickey, much to her dark dismay.

But the very thought of Prince John attempting to get to them made her furious. No one dared to attack Riku or Mickey...not on her watch.

* * *

Having snuck into the competition, Riku, Mickey, Robin Hood and Little John agreed to split up to avoid getting attention. As such, the two Keyblade Wielders would pretend to not know the latter two who would be wearing different disguises. Robin was cleverly disguised as a spindle-legged stork from Devonshire to compete without getting caught, with a complete look of a perfect costume, while Little John was disguised as a duke and would get with Prince John to observe it.

As for Riku and Mickey, first they would secretly scan around the area for any signs of Heartless that would suddenly attack the innocent citizens, and keeping an eye out of Marluxia and/or Aqua before the competition would even start. The Keyblade wielders carefully wandered around the set up area when they saw that the tournament had already started, and among the competitors, other than the disguised Robin Hood, was the Sheriff. In the royal stand was Maid Marian with Klucky to her right, and Prince John to her left, and the disguised Little John on his left, but there was no sign of Hiss.

Though despite trying to be as reckless as possible, Robin Hood couldn't help but hit the perfect bullseye each time, which concerned the Keyblade Wielders.

"Gosh, even when he's tryin' so hard, he's still really good." Mickey whispered as he and Riku witnessed the competition from behind a tent.

"If he's not careful, he could get caught." Riku whispered in agreement, only for both of them to gasp in shock and horror when they saw, to their great confusion, was Hiss who somehow gotten himself inside a balloon and was secretly observing Robin Hood's disguise as the said archer was having a conversation with the Sheriff who once again was easily fooled.

The snake then realized who the stork really was and then began to fly away, to inform Prince John.

"This is bad." Riku hissed.

"We gotta do somethin'!" Mickey softly exclaimed, quickly scanning around to see what to use in order to stop Hiss without using magic. It wasn't until he noticed lone arrow and a stick and thin rope as an idea formed into his mind. Before Riku could ask what he was doing, Mickey quickly tied the rope and stick together and made a hand-made bow.

The king then grabbed an arrow and to his friend's surprise, he aimed carefully and fired the arrow right at Hiss. While it missed the snake, it popped the balloon. Realizing that his vessel was gone, Hiss gulped as he then fell down towards the ground. Mickey caught him and climbing onto a barrel of wine, straightened him before shoving him into the small hole that was the perfect size for the snake.

"Unhand me, you-!" Hiss protested, but Mickey bonked him on the head and shoved him fully into the barrel and shoved a cork into the hole to keep him secure. "_Please, please! I don't drink!_"

"That oughta keep him keep busy." Mickey remarked with a smirk, which to Riku, was a bit uncharacteristic.

"I never knew you to be good at archery, or even that either." The silver haired teen remarked with an impressed smirk. "That was impressively sneaky."

Mickey laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he admitted. "Well, I used to be a bit of a trouble maker a long time ago, and when I was even smaller than I am now, Donald, Goofy and I used to play archery with fake arrows."

"Well, that at least gave all of us a bit more time." Riku chuckled, just as he and Mickey heard an announcement. As the latter hopped off the barrel, he and his friend stood near the crowd as a crocodile captain began to declare the finalists. All of the arches stood in line as they waited patiently.

"Attention, everyone. The final contestants are the honorable sheriff of Nottingham." The captain declared.

The Sheriff, excited to have made it into the finals, leaped forward and bowed...only to frown in annoyance when the crowd all 'boo'ed in disappointment and disgust since everyone in the village really hated him due to his job and position.

"And he wonders why no one likes him." Riku whispered, as he and Mickey tried hard not to laugh aloud at all the boos the wolf was getting. Especially since the Sheriff's expression was priceless.

"And the spindle-legged stork from Devonshire." The captain continued.

The disguised Robin Hood waved happily at the crowd who gave him excited and encouraging cheers since they all liked him for his skills. He then caught sight of Maid Marian and waved at her, to which she happily waved back excitedly, since both of them had briefly met before the competition started, and since she'd been secretly informed that Robin Hood would be here by Friar earlier, recognized him through the eyes.

"My dear, I suspect you favor the gangly youth." Prince John commented when he saw this.

"Oh, w-why yes, sire." Marian stuttered, startled. "Well, at least he amuses me."

This made the Prince chuckle, secretly knowing that he knew who the 'stork' really was. "Coincidently, my dear young lady, he amuses me too."

"For the final shootout, move the target back three paces." The captain ordered as a drumroll was heard. One of the guards moved the target back tree paces, and Sheriff made the final shoot. He managed to hit it right in the center, much to the crowds', Riku, Mickey and especially Maid Marian's dismay, with the crowd detesting once more.

"BOO!" The Crowd all groaned loudly.

"Well, that shot wins the golden arrow, the kiss and the whole caboodle." The Sheriff chuckled.

Robin just rolled his eyes as he was about to make his final shoot. However, he lost concentration when Sheriff secretly kicked him and caused him to shoot the arrow in the air, much to everyone's shock.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Riku yelled, as he and Mickey had seen what just happened.

"Why you no good crook!" Mickey yelled out at the Sheriff who didn't hear him or his friend.

Thinking quickly despite it being a risk, Robin Hood fired another arrow towards the slowly disappearing arrow. It hit the back of it while the first arrow spun, and miraculously, the arrow flew right down in high speed like a rocket and hit the bullseye while splitting the Sheriff's arrow in half. There was huge roar of cheers from the crowd, knowing that Robin had won the championship. Marian and Klucky hugged each other happily.

But while both Riku and Mickey were stunned in awe by the events, it was the final mistake on Robin Hood's part as Prince John smiled evilly, knowing that without a doubt, it was the thief in disguise. He secretly glanced at the captain who returned the smile, and then whispered to one of the guards. As Robin began to approach the royal box, with a large number of guards behind him, the two Keyblade Wielders noticed the sinister smile on the Prince's face and felt their hearts drop.

He knew. There was no mistaking of it.

"Archer, I commend you, and because of your superior skill, you shall get what is coming to you. Our royal congratulations." Prince John declared, while Maid Marian held out the golden arrow which was also a prize of the tournament, though she and Robin could only gaze at each other's eyes for a moment until the Prince finished his speech.

"Oh, thank you kindly, Your Highness." Robin replied enthusiastically. "Meetin' you face-to-face, Your High and Mighty, is a real treat."

"Yes, yes, thank you." Prince John quickly replied, and then was handed a sword as though to dub Robin who bowed. "And now I name you the winner, or, more appropriately..."

Snickering, he then slid the sword through Robin's yellow coat, and to the latter's shock as well as everyone else's, Prince John sliced it away and the entire disguise fell away and revealing the outlaw who stood there in disbelief.

"The loser." Prince John continued.

Riku gasped, while Mickey exclaimed softly in horror. "Oh no!"

While watching from a bit of a distance, Aqua saw what was happening and it wasn't long before she knew what had caused Robin Hood to fall into the trap. Because her gaze turned to the shocked Maid Marian.

"**It was the power of love that brought him to this. A lesson everyone should always remember.**" She muttered to herself, walking away as she made the decision to approach King Mickey and Riku later.

Without a large crowd who all realized that the entire tournament was not a competition of the arrow or Maid Marian at all. It was all a ruse to lure Robin Hood into a trap.

One that even Marian herself did not know until it was too late.

* * *

**A/N: Uh oh! Cliff-hanger!(sorry about that). What will become of Robin Hood now? What is Marluxia's intentions in this world while he's busy in the Kingdom of Corona at the same time? Only time will tell, and I think this will be four chapters long this time.**

**Sorry for the lack of battle scenes, but there will be some in the next chapter, I promise.**

**See you then!**


	27. Chapter 26: Friendship and Love

**A/N: Not much to say here, but here's another new chapter!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 26: Friendship and Love.

"Seize him." Prince John calmly ordered the guards with a victorious and evil smile, pleased with the results and the reaction of the crowd.

The guards wasted no time in surrounding Robin Hood and despite his struggles to stop them, he was tackled, chained, shackled and tied up, brought to the ground standing and was captured right before everyone's eyes. How could this have happened? He really didn't think this was all a trap, and that, he realized to himself, was his biggest mistake.

Riku and Mickey however, their hearts beating as they stared on in horror, knowing that they haven't been careful enough or have even seen this even though they knew that Robin Hood had been too reckless and too careful. Even worse, they couldn't do a single thing without getting captured themselves.

"I sentence you to sudden, instant and even immediate death!" Prince John declared darkly, much to the horror of Riku, Mickey and especially Maid Marian.

"Oh no!" Marian gasped softly, her heart sinking as she knew in that instant, that the man she deeply loved was going to die. She couldn't let this happen, she didn't want to lose Robin Hood, whom she had only seen today after many years. She came here to see him again, only to realize that the entire contest was nothing more than a trap, and guilt and sorrow overcame here.

She then turned to Prince John and pleaded tearfully. "Please, sire! I beg of you to spare his life! Please have mercy!"

"My dear, emotional lady. Why should I?" Prince John smirked, unfazed by her pleads, which only angered Riku and Mickey even more. The two of them knew why she was pleading, and while they wished it would work, they both knew that the prince would not listen. All he cared about was himself, and was willing to let everyone die, and only made Robin Hood criminal because of him stealing the gold just to help the poor.

"Because I love him, your highness." Marian admitted.

"Love him?" Prince John asked, admittedly surprised. He quickly recovered and questioned. "And does this prisoner return your love?"

There was a moment of silence as Robin, hearing those words from the woman he deeply loved calmed him, making him realize that she didn't care if he was a criminal or not. Even after all these years, their love was just as strong as ever. He and the tearful Maid Marian gazed at each other's warm eyes, memories of their time together as children only strengthen their feelings for one another.

"Marian, my darling. I love you more than life itself." Robin declared passionately. It warmed the hearts of the crowd, especially Riku and Mickey who felt their expressions soften by this. He really did love Marian and she deeply loved him in return. The young vixen smiled tearfully, as the words alone told her that Robin still loved her even after years of being apart.

Unfortunately, Prince John, the guards and the Sheriff were unexpected by this.

"Ah, young love." The prince chuckled, almost amused by this. He didn't care about love at all, because to him it was a waste of time and as far as he was concerned, it was just a weak feeling. "Your pleas have not fallen upon a heart of stone."

He then declared as he had made up his mind. "Traitors to the crown must die!"

"Traitors to the crown?" Robin repeated, feeling fresh anger by the cruel prince's words. What Prince John had said was arrogance, not just to what he said, but also his actions towards the people of England, and if Prince John thinks he can be the ruler, he was mistaken. "That crown belongs to King Richard."

He then declared loudly, "Long live King Richard!"

"Long live King Richard!" The villagers of Nottingham repeated, fully agreeing with Robin Hood, to which Mickey and Riku both nodded in agreement. Prince John though could only stare in shock, before anger filled his heart as he growled. For a long time, his mother always liked his older brother, and he wanted to be king, but Richard was picked and Prince John found it unfair. Which was why he had Hiss to hypnotize the King into going off into the crusade, so that he would die and that Prince John would become the permanent ruler.

"ENOUGH!" He shouted, darkness once again surrounding him but faded as he stood on the throne and stomped and jumped up and down like a small child, having a temper tantrum. "I am king! King! King!"

Riku's eyes widened as he saw the dark mist that formed around the ruler for a brief moment. If Prince John wasn't careful, then the Heartless would appear and harm everyone. Though the lion ruler just proved that he didn't care and was behaving like a spoiled child just to get what he wanted and it disgusted him. Of all the villains he and Mickey had met, not one could compare to how much of a baby Prince John was...but also dangerous none the less.

"Off with his head!" Prince John shouted, and the hearts of all who trusted Robin Hood froze, knowing that he had just ordered Robin Hood's execution. As the drums of the execution rolled, the executioner began to approach with the headman's axe.

"No...!" Mickey whispered in horror, the urge to go and stop this becoming hard to resist, and he knew that Riku was feeling the same. But the much kinder and more caring King knew, that it was no use. They and everyone else could only watch in horror as it began to dawn on them that their hope and future was about to die, as Robin Hood was the beckon of hope, the light that shone upon the darkness that was the cruelty of Prince John.

Maid Marian was just as heartbroken, and could only look away, crying. Klucky held her in her arms, only able to do her best to comfort her despite that the poor girl was about to lose the man she loved, her dreams and her future.

Or so everyone thought. Because no one even had noticed that during this that the disguised Little John, not willing to let this happen, had silently and secretly left the seat that he taken from Hiss earlier and snuck around behind the royal box...

"STOP!" Prince John suddenly cried, getting everyone's attention. "Executioner, stop! Hold your axe!"

Everything stopped in that moment, and while everyone was suddenly puzzled on why Prince John had a sudden change of heart, at the moment no one saw that it was forced, because Little John had him by the back of the shirt and held a dagger in the middle of the royal's back with his own threat in order to save Robin's life.

"Okay, big shot. Now tell them to untie my buddy, or I'll..." Little John whispered low.

Fearing for his life but unable to reveal that he was being held hostage, gulped and quickly ordered. "Sheriff, r-release the prisoner!"

"Untie the prisoner?" The Sheriff, who was among the guards holding the rope to prevent Robin Hood from escaping, asked incredulously.

"You heard what he said, bushel britches!" Klucky yelled, in a tone that left no room for negotiation.

"But sire-" The Sheriff began to protest, but was cut off.

"Sheriff, I make the rules!" Prince John yelled back, before he secretly winched when Little John pulled him back a bit more, which was painful. He then grumbled at his captor behind him, whispering. "Not so hard, you mean thing."

Little John only glared and threatened to shove the knife into Prince John's back, which made the latter even more terrified and knew that he had no choice but to do as he was told or else lose his life.

"Let him go, for heaven's sake!" Prince John yelled out, almost wailing. "LET, HIM, GO!"

Riku and Mickey both sighed in relief, as the tension died down while everyone cheered on, and Robin Hood was freed. He pushed away the rest of the ropes as the crowd cheered and whistled, and an relieved Maid Marian ran up to him, the two reunited lovers holding each other's hands, which for a moment, made Mickey remember when he and Minnie did the very same thing after she was unexpectedly saved by Lea.

Something that the King was so grateful for. Mickey made a mental note to give the former Organization member now turned ally and friend his full gratitude.

"I owe my life to you, my darling." Robin told Marian generously.

"I couldn't live without you, Robin." Marian replied, as she and her lover embraced tenderly.

However, the Sheriff was confused by this sudden twisted events and became suspicious. There was something funny going on around here. And as he looked up at Prince John again, he noticed that his majesty was in an awkward position, being hunched up upward, as though he was being held. This raised the suspicions as he snuck away from the crowd to investigate, and saw, to his great anger, was Little John holding Prince John hostage.

"Now, PJ, tell my pal to kiss Maid Marian, or I've just found a new pin-cushion." Little John ordered.

"Why you!" The Sheriff growled angrily, getting Little John's attention. He attempted to slice the latter's head off, but Little John was too fast and ducked just in time, even though his hat fell off. But as he then struck him back by punching him in the lower jawline that knocked the wolf back, that unfortunately had him release Prince John who, now freed, once again had the power to take control of the situation.

"Kill him!" He roared to the guards in pure anger and hatred, much to Robin, Marian, Riku, Mickey and the crowd's shock and horror. "Don't stand there! Kill him!"

But just as the guards charged to attack Robin Hood who pushed Marian away from the sudden battle, Little John emerged and threw him a sword while picking up a stick. Robin then fought against the guards, blocking each attacks and Little John was fighting more guards himself. To make things more worse and to the shock of Riku and Mickey, Heartless then suddenly appeared in the sudden battle arena which had everyone shocked and horrified.

"The darkness in Prince John summoned them!" Riku exclaimed.

"C'mon, Riku! We gotta help!" Mickey declared, as he summoned his Keyblade and leaped into action. Riku was half a second behind him as he summoned his own Keyblade and followed him quickly. The two wielders slashed away the Heartless that blocked their path and quickly rejoined Robin Hood's side as the bandit saw this and nodded, mentally thanking them and Little John for the help.

The trio blocked the attacks from the guards who, along with Prince John and the Sheriff were shocked to see the two outsiders joining in the combat as well as fighting off the Heartless that were attacking everyone in sight, as it became a battle zone. The crowd had to run away in fear while the guards were now stuck in fighting both the monsters and Robin Hood's group. Robin Hood continued to clash against the guards while slashing away a Heartless that got too close while trying to keep Marian protected as much as possible.

Riku, careful in not using his magic, used his Keyblade to block the rhino guard's spear before breaking it in half and then kicked the guard in the stomach hard, making his opponent groan in pain before falling to the ground, moaning pathetically. The Keyblade Wielder then blocked another Archer Heartless' attack and then had to briefly break away from his friends to finish it off and quickly took on the other enemies.

Mickey leaped and swiped and slashed against the Heartless as well as using his size and speed to parrel and block a Hippo's attacks and even bonked him on the haed, also careful in not using his magic either, even as the Soldier Heartless appeared, but he made quick work with it. When he somersaulted several times to knock back his opponents, the King suddenly sensed movement behind him and turned just in time to see Prince John holding his sword up for a surprise attack.

"Nuh-uh! Don't even think about it!" Mickey yelled and with an eased swipe, he knocked the sword from his fellow royal's hand with his Keyblade and glared at him.

"No, no! Don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me!" Prince John pleaded, before turning and quickjly scurried away, screaming. "Help! Help!"

He clumsily ran through the back of the box's curtains and crawled away to safey, hiding behind the same barrel that Mickey had placed Hiss in, much to the King's confusion.

"Huh?" Mickey blinked, not having expected this. He then shrugged cluelessly before quickly dodging another Heartless's attack and this time had no choice but to use a Firaga Spell to blast the Ice-Element Heartless into oblivion before moving on to more of the opponents.

When the situation was getting too out of hand, Maid Marian was starting to become too trapped in this fight.

"Run for it, lassie! This is no place for a lady!" Klucky urged the younger woman who, despite worried, quickly ran for a safer place. The lady in waiting in the meantime stormed into the battle field with the golden arrow as her weapon and surprisingly stabbed the arrow into the butt of another guard who yelped comically.

Soon the fight was spread out and Riku, Mickey and Robin Hood had to split up to fight each opponents. Mickey then hurried to save the brave chicken by whacking his Keyblade onto the Sheriff's head when the wolf attempted to grab her, only to gap at her in shock when she grabbed hold of the Sheriff's arm and flung him over her head and thrust him onto the ground on his back in a big thud.

"Take that, you scoundrel!" Klucky growled at the stunned and dazed Sheriff who was staring upward with a look of complete disbelief, for having been beaten by not only a mouse with a large Key-like sword, but also a chicken who was lot tougher than she looked.

Mickey could only stare at her dumbfounded for a moment, before quickly teaming up with her to continue fighing the guards and the Heartless, as he also attempted to keep her safe.

Riku in the meantime prevented the Heartless and the smaller wolf guards from attacking Maid Marian who was screaming for help. While the Keyblade Wielder took them out while dodging their attacks, Robin Hood heroically swung in, scooping his lover in his free arm and carried her to safety and continued to fight off the guards while keeping her safe. Riku then was forced to his Thunderaga at a flying Heartless before wincing when he was unexpectedly hit by the body-slam attack from the Belly-Heartless as three had appeared.

As he took them out one by one while avoiding in getting ambushed again, Mickey pushed Lady Kluck out of the way and blocked another guard's sword and despite being smaller, he managed to shove him back and knocked him out cold, and mumbled an apology to the chicken who was fine with it. As the King then lead her away to safety when the last of the Heartless was dealt with, all of the guards gotten themselves crowded in a large tent and were running blindly all over the place.

But soon Riku and Mickey found themselves surrounded with more Heartless and after telling Robin Hood, Maid Marian, Little John and Klucky to run for it into the woods, the four of them did so while the two Keyblade Wielders dealt with the monsters, and briefly caught sight of the Sheriff who was running away in panic from the herd of guards stuck in carrying the tent before unexpectedly scooping up the throne from the now destroyed royal box, and the wolf was swept up into it, being carried away.

"That'll keep them busy for a while." Riku chuckled, and Mickey laughed in agreement before the mutually agreed that they should leave as well. The two friends then hurried into the woods themselves, out of sight.

* * *

As soon as things somewhat calmed down...after the Sheriff and the guards crashed into a tower which crumbled into nothing but a pile of bricks and yet they only had a few injuries, Prince John was now angry, unable to believe that his plan was ruined yet again. He'd come so close in finally finishing off Robin Hood, but he underestimated his enemy's allies, and on top of that, the unfamiliar mouse and unusual young man, both with large swords that were oddly shaped like giant keys fighting both the guards and the monsters were there.

The same ones he was informed off yesterday.

"Hiss!" Prince John yelled, noticing that the snake wasn't around...again. "You're never around when I need you!"

To his confusion, he rechieved a reply, but in the most unexpected places...right next to him, inside the barrel he'd been hiding behind, and he could also hear sloshing and bubbling, and a slightly drunk singing. Prince John at first wondered how in the world Hiss managed to get in there, then uncorked it and the slightly drunk snake emerged, finally free from his prison.

"Oh, there you are, your majesty!" Hiss perked up, seeing Prince John standing right next to him, and unfortunately was unaware of the events that occured as he reported to him. "You don't believe it, but that stork is actually Robin Hood, but then that young mouse had trapped me inside this barrel."

"A mouse trapped you?" Prince John repeated, and when Hiss nodded, the former then shrieked loudly in anger and grabbed hold of the snake before tying him up to a wooden pole in several tangled knots, and then dared angrily. "Get out that if you can."

It was just then that the battered Sheriff approached them, wincing at the aches and pains he had gotten from the fight and his unexpected ride, and even rubbed his head on the sore spot where Mickey had hit him.

"Where are they?" Prince John demanded when he saw him.

"Those criminals got away, and now those two from yesterday are with Robin Hood." The Sheriff replied, groaning. "I can't believe that those two fight those monsters but they side with everybody else against us!"

"This has gotten too far. If there should be anymore unexpected visitors, I want them arrested upon sight! Especially those two! If they keep on protecting the peasants, they will be liked upon them, just like that insufferable Robin Hood! In fact, I can't have those peasants humilate me any further." Prince John declared.

The Sheriff gulped nervously as the prince leaned up right in the face. If there was anyone and anything that actually scared him, it was Prince John and his anger, especially when he was furious.

"Sheriff, double the taxes! Triple the taxes! Squeeze every last drop out of those insolent peasants." Prince John commanded, smiling evilly. "And arrest everyone who cannot pay the taxes for life!"

"Um, sire?" Hiss spoke up hesitatedly, struggling to free himself. "I-I don't think Friar Tuck will agree to this. Perhaps we should arrest him too."

"He's right, sire." The Sheriff agreed, shrugging. "He's as a big of a support to Robin Hood and meddling as anybody else, and he's the one who was saved by those two visitors."

The lion Prince thought about what his two servants had said, and while it was really Robin Hood he wanted, he then realized that they were right. Friar was the biggest supporter of Robin Hood and as such, even helped giving the stolen loot to the peasants and always defended them, and even defended both Riku and Mickey out of gratitude. But if Friar was put into jail, no doubt Robin Hood would come rescue him. Unless...

"Ah! I have it." Prince John said as another idea formed into his mind. "I'll use Friar as bait to trap Robin Hood."

"Another trap?" Hiss asked, shocked. And just as today's trap had ultimately failed, the Prince was coming up with another one already?

"Yes, you stupid serpent." Prince John replied, continuing evilly. "Friar Tuck will be led to the gallows in the village square, don't you see?"

"The gallows?" Sheriff repeated, his eyes widening in surprise. Well, he would have preferred to have Robin Hood in the gallows as he knew what the prince had in mind, but still...

Hiss on the other hand, was horrified to hear this. He had known that his majesty had always been cruel and most times supported it, but even he admitted this was far too much. Especially for Friar.

"B-B-but sire! Hang Friar Tuck? A man of the church?" He stuttered.

"Yes, my reluctant reptile. And when our elusive hero tries to rescue the corpulent cleric..." Prince John laughed evilly. "My men will be ready."

"As you wish, your majesty." The Sheriff shrugged. Well, if this could finally get rid of Robin Hood once and for all, then he was fine with that.

All they had to do now was set up the said trap.

* * *

Meanwhile, both Riku and Mickey had just reached the middle of the forest as the sun had already gone down and they were looking for Robin's group even though they had a feeling they all headed back to the nook since it was the best place to hide. Though they still haven't located Aqua anywhere, but now felt that she was close, and as Mickey had feared, the corruption was becoming stronger, slowly covering the remains of her light which made it more harder for him to follow.

As such, the lingering guilt of everything that's happend to the poor girl hanged in his heart, and not just Aqua, but also Terra. If only Mickey had gone with her.

Thinking about this, he then thought about of when he reunited with her for the first time in the Realm of Darkness two years ago...

* * *

_Flash-Back:_

_Mickey had been getting close, both to the familiar warm light which he didn't expect to find when he first arrived in this scary and terrible place, as it sure fitted the realm of darkness, as well as the Keyblade of Darkness, the counterpart of the Keyblade of Light, which was in the hands of chosen new Keyblade Wielder._

_When he finally found the source of the light, it was the last person he'd expected to find in this place. Mickey had been shocked when he saw the slowly descending and unconscious figure of Aqua above him, and dangerously getting close into falling the deeper abyss from the side of the rock platform pathway he was on. Unable to lose her again, Mickey used his magic to float up and rescue her, returning her charm which also glowed in light which he found was the source of it to her._

_After she regained consciousness and recognized him, the two were unexpectedly put into a battle against the Demon Tower of Heartless. The two worked together and while Mickey was certain that the Keyblade Aqua was currently wielding wasn't hers, he decided to worry about that later._

_The two of them finished it off as it faded away after Aqua face it a finishing blow. After that, they breathed a bit of relief._

_"Better not push our luck." Mickey advised, after he dismissed his Star Seeker Keyblade. Though as Aqua turned to face him, the King couldn't help but suddenly be overwhelmed in seeing his friend, who hasn't changed since the last time he'd seen her. He figured it was due to Time not existing in the Realm of Darkness and thus it halted Aqua's aging all together. But he definitely knew it was her. The same as always._

_So without stopping himself, he launched himself into Aqua and hugged her tightly around the waist, almost accidentally making her fall backwards, though she did stumble a bit before regaining her balance, as she looked at him in surprise._

_"But I'm so glad that I finally found ya...! I knew you were still alive." Mickey exclaimed softly, almost beginning to cry and even though he held it back, he did end up sniffling and could feel the moisture of his tears in his eyes._

_"Mickey..." Aqua whispered, feeling overwhelmed herself, to finally be in the real company of someone with light. She returned the embrace, and held her old friend close as the few tears slid free and down her face. She could feel his heart beating. "...This is real. You're real."_

_Mickey blinked, a bit confused before saying. "Of course I am. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It sure is scary and lonely here."_

_The two of them calmed down before gently releasing each other, as Aqua set Mickey back down to the ground as he added, "But gosh, I never thought I'd find ya in the realm of darkness, that's for sure. So, um, what happened?"_

_"It's a long story. But, have you seen Terra, or Ven?" Aqua replied._

_"No, just you." The King apologetically answered._

_Aqua sighed, disappointed and disheartened as she placed a hand to her chest. "I'm sorry. The darkness in this place, it's getting to me."_

_"Oh." Mickey muttered, deeply sympathized. Poor girl, she must have suffered for so long that the loneliness had really gotten to her, and if he had to guess, Aqua must have been hallucinating for who knows how long. Even though he'd only been here hopefully no more than days or weeks in the Realm of Light, he could already feel the terrible solitude with only Heartless as company, which the Heartless were extremely territoral, agressive and deadly._

_He then optismically told her, "But you'll be okay."_

_"Right." Aqua nodded, even though she gazed down despondently. She then asked curiously, "Have you really been...looking for me?"_

_"Yep, sure have. We've been lookin' for ya a long time." Mickey nodded, and by we, he meant both himself and Master Yen Sid, which seemed enough to cheer her up a little. He then understood why; ten years is a long time. He then asked curiously himself, "How come you're in this place?"_

_"First tell me: How long has it been in the Realm of Light?" Aqua questioned in return._

_Guilt quickly formed in his heart, as Mickey felt terrible for not having come here sooner. In fact, for a long time he blamed himself for her disappearance, and Ven's situation. Not to mention the disappearance of Terra even though the King still hasn't met him, let alone found him._

_"About...Ten years." Mickey somewhat reluctantly replied, gazing at the ground himself. He didn't know what her reaction would be, but how she ended up trapped here made him feel even worse._

_"...Interesting." Aqua muttered as she gazed up at the dark never ending ceiling, taking a couple steps away from him as she began to answer his question and the King gazed back at her. "After we last spoke, I took Ven somewhere safe, and then I went after Terra. But Terra was about to fall to darkness, so I had one choice. I sacrificed my freedom to give him a second chance."_

_It made Mickey feel twice as bad as before, the stabbing guilt plunging into his heart like a giant sword, or maybe even a giant fork digging into him like a piece of pie._

_"I...didn't know." Mickey muttered, lowering his gaze again. Guilt mountained over more guilt in the pit of his stomach, his heart hurting terribly. He should have gone with her, so that they both could've been saved. Out of all the mistakes that he made, Mickey felt like this was one of the worst and most cruelest one ever._

_'_It's all my fault._' He thought to himself, feeling like he was such an awful friend. '_I wish I knew..._'_

_"How about you?" Aqua's voice jarred him out of his own troubled thoughts, causing him to look up as she had turned and bend down to his height of level. "What could've brought you here? Has something happened? In the realm of light?"_

_Forcing himself to calm down and knowing that she had every right to know, Mickey explained to her about the Heartless, how they've been attacking the worlds and stealing their hearts, and worlds without hearts fall into darkness. He told her that if they could the door between the two realms of Light and Darkness on both sides, it would allow the rest of the worlds to be protected and, in theory, restore the lost worlds back into the Realm of Light. _

_He told her that he came here to look for the Keyblade of the Realm of Darkness, but admitted that hadn't been easy. That Mickey had to allow himself to be swallowed up with a world that is in the process of being engulfed by darkness since an entrance between the two realms could be opened, and that he snuck in when he had the chance. _

_"...But hey, when I got here, I felt a warm, familiar light. I followed it to find my way...to you." Mickey added optimistically, gently holding Aqua's hand that held her Lucky Charm for a brief moment._

_"The charm." Aqua muttered, coming to a realization of how she and Mickey were reunited. Maybe it wasn't just another hallucination, she thought. "So they were helping. Terra and Ven brought you and I back together again."_

_"Yeah!" Mickey nodded in agreement, thinking along the same line of thought._

_"But, the worlds are still in danger." Aqua continued in realization, then asked. "Terra-did he make it back to the realm of light?"_

_"...We still haven't found him." Mickey sighed apologetically. As a matter of fact, he still had no idea what Terra even looked like._

_"I see. Well, wherever he is, he's fighting. He'll beat his darkness. And_

_I know he wants me to fight too." Aqua replied, still positive that Terra was fighting himself. So she had to do the same. She had done it for so long, she can keep on doing it._

_The King, feeling some of his guilt fade, nodded in agreement. "I think you're right. He'll be just fine."_

_"But what about Ven? He won't wake up unless I'm there with him." Aqua stated as she stood up, and then realized that she could not stay here anymore. "I have to go. I have to find a way back to the realm of light."_

_"Great! Then let's locate that key and go home together!" Mickey declared, relieved that not only he found a way to help Sora, Donald, Goofy and Riku to save the Realm of Light, but also now he finally found one of his three friends whom he'd been unable to save after ten long years of searching._

_"Does that mean you know an exit?" Aqua asked, in surprise._

_A slight pause, as Mickey jumped slightly before realizing his latest mistake._

_"Oops." Mickey sheepishly murmured, scratching the back of his head as he replied. "Well, uh, I was so busy finding a way in, that I didn't give a lot of_

_thought to where there'd be a way out."_

_He then quickly said optimistically, "But I'm sure we're to find one!"_

_"You haven't changed at all." Aqua chuckled, recalling the first time they met. This made Mickey place his hand behind his head again as he laughed along with his friend. As their laughter faded, Mickey lowered his arm and gazed up into the distance._

_"May our hearts be our guiding key." He quoted, remembering those words Master Yen Sid used to tell him._

_"There's a phrase no one's used in ages." Aqua commented with a smiled._

_Mickey nodded, as he told her. "Keyblade wielders used to say those words to each other. And now, it's something I like to try and remember." As he did, he held out his hand up and clutched it into a fist with determination._

_He wasn't going to leave her again. He promised himself this. This time, Mickey will make sure Aqua will be okay, and once they locate Riku and close the door to darkness, he was going to find a way out and bring both of his friends back home to the Realm of Light. After that, he was going to continue to help her locate Ven's heart and restore him and then find Terra._

_The King lowered his left arm and then held out his right hand to Aqua, re-offering teamwork. "So. Ready?"_

_Aqua nodded, and clasped her friend's hand into hers. "Ready."_

_"One more thing." Mickey continued, after letting go as he and Aqua then began to trek up the path to continue the quest. "I'm really sorry for takin' so long in findin' ya, and to find Ven and Terra too."_

_"It's alright. It's like you said, no one would have thought to look into the realm of darkness as a location." Aqua reassured._

_"Still...I feel awful. I wanted to go with ya to find Terra, but the thing is...I was already in enough trouble after runnin' off from Master Yen Sid that I knew I had to explain why I left in the first place." Mickey admitted._

_"So you ran off too?" Aqua asked, surprised. When they had first met, she had thought that Master Yen Sid had sent Mickey out to deal with the Unversed, just as Master Eraqus had done to Aqua herself and Terra._

_The King shrugged. "Yep. I was worried about the other worlds when he found out 'bout the Unversed, and I felt that I couldn't just stay and train while they were hurtin' everybody. So I burrowed the Star Shard to help me to get to where I wanted to go, except that I haven't quite gotten the hang of it."_

_"I guess that explains why you disappeared unexpectedly that day, when we first met." Aqua realized, giggling._

_"Yep. Actually, that's how I met Ven in the first place. When I arrived at the Keyblade Graveyard, I saved him from Vanitas and, gosh, we got along so well already and Ven's such a great friend, like you. Though I'm not sure why he ran off, but I guess he was worried about you and Terra and the worlds."_

_Aqua looked away, which quickly concerned Mickey before the former replied. "...Ven ran off because he wanted to warn Terra about Vanitas, but Terra didn't give him a chance, which is why he did it. By then...it was too late."_

_Mickey felt his heart drop at this new information. Had it been for him, he would've done the same thing, to try and stop one of his closest friends from falling into darkness. That only renewed his guilt for failing to help Aqua, Ven and Terra._

_"I'm sorry I left you with the heavy burden, Mickey." Aqua muttered._

_"Huh?" Mickey blinked, surprised to hear that Aqua was apologizing to him, where he was the one at fault._

_"It must have been hard for you. What did Master Yen Sid say to you after I left?"_

_"Well...Just a little disappointed, but at the same time he wasn't really surprised and in the end he knew that I did it for a reason." Mickey shrugged, sighing as he rubbed his arm awkwardly. "Actually, I was scared that I disappointed him so badly that time that...that I about to quit in being a Keyblade Wielder."_

_"What?" Aqua gasped in shock, staring at him incredulously._

_"I wasn't always an easy apprentice when we first met. But that time when the Realm of Light was almost lost that day, and after Ven's heart went to sleep and you and Terra both disappeared, I felt that I messed everything up and that it was best to give up the Keyblade for good." Mickey admitted._

_"But he gave you a second chance." The blue haired young woman stated._

_The young mouse king nodded. "Yep. I was really surprised when he gave back my Keyblade, and well, he said that that I passed the Mark of Mastery and made me a Keyblade Master."_

_"You're a Keyblade Master now too?" Aqua asked in surprise, then smiled. "Congratulations!"_

_"Aw, it was nothin'. Besides, I was more focusin' on helpin' others and wanting to keep the light safe rather than thinking about becoming a Master." Mickey said bashfully. "Especially all of our friends. So I was really surprised when I decided I needed more training if I could do that, that he decided that it was time for me to take part of the exam...even though it had to be delayed due to the Unversed."_

_"Around the same time Terra and I took our Mark of Mastery exam...and I was the only one who passed." Aqua said in realization, which surprised Mickey. "The two of us and Ven all had dreams of becoming Keyblade Masters, and...I think that's what led us to our downfall."_

_"Whaddya mean?"_

_"...Terra had darkness in him during the test, and none of us knew how it happened. Master Eraqus requested me to bring him back in case he went too deep, and then I had to find Ven and bring him home, because none of us wanted him to get hurt."_

_Aqua sighed, with a look of guilt forming on her expression. "Ven was right. Ever since I became a Master, I let it go to my head. Only following orders and performing my duty, that I didn't even think that I was pushing my friends away. Maybe it's because of me that I lost both of them. When I see them again, I have to apologize."_

_"...Well, it's not easy when sometimes dreams can make friendships go a bit haywire. But in the end, they always make up. I'm sure you, Ven and Terra will be back together again. In fact, they'll be so happy to see you when we do find them." Mickey reassured._

_"I guess you're right." Aqua smiled a little sadly._

_The rest of the conversation was put to a standstill when the two Keyblade Masters saw light at the end of the tunnel, which was unusual in a place like this. Mickey and Aqua shared a glance, as the light felt very warm but a bit cold like it was fading, and then nodded before approaching it, noticing beach sand on the path and entered the light..._

* * *

End of Flash-Back:

"Mickey?"

"Huh, what?" Mickey blinked, startled out of his reminiscence when Riku's voice spoke. The king looked up and saw that his friend was gazing at him with a slight concerned look, and realized that he'd been thinking about that memory that he zoned out. "Oh. Sorry, Riku. I was just thinkin'."

"About Aqua?" The silver haired teen guessed.

"Yeah...I don't think she remembers, but we both learned a few things about each other and how the situation got so bad. Not that it was ever her fault or anybody else's, except for Xehanort." The King sighed sadly, even though he felt that he was to blame for the whole mess. The fact that he failed to bring her with him and Riku to the Realm of Light that time, that he had to wait until it was too late in order to find her again.

"We'll find her, and we'll help to keep her in the light long enough for Sora to use the Key to Return Hearts." Riku reassured.

Mickey smiled in gratitude to his friend, knowing that he was right. They will find and save Aqua. He owed her that.

"I'm afraid that is out of question."

Gasping in shock upon hearing a familiar and unwanted voice, Riku and Mickey both spun around to look behind them and saw Marluxia having appeared out of the darkness.

"Marluxia!" Riku grunted as he and Mickey both stood in battle stances.

"I told you before; give up your foolish chase, and leave Aqua be." The pink haired Nobody continued darkly.

"No!" Mickey yelled.

"What makes you think we'll listen to you?" Riku asked skeptically.

"Hmph. It would seem that you will be willing to listen. You have meddled far too much, just like Sora, and now you're acting too much like him." Marluxia stated, and like he did to the trio about half an hour ago in the Kingdom of Corona, he out his hand and sent out some kind of gust of wind which hit both Riku and Mickey in the faces despite them raising their arms to shield themselves.

But it was too late, as the two Keyblade Masters felt drowsy and overwhelmingly sleepy. Riku and Mickey tried hard to stay awake, but it was a losing battle. Then began to collapse and fell onto the ground and lost consciousness.

"Don't worry. You will wake up soon enough." Marluxia darkly informed, before teleporting away back to the other world, where he would end up fighting and losing to Sora, Donald, Goofy and Tifa tomorrow morning.

Leaving both Riku and Mickey in deep sleep in the middle of the forest.

* * *

**A/N: The next chapter will definitely be the last of the Robin Hood Arc, and then after that, I'll be taking a break before I work on the Frozen Arc, which will be a double surprise, per se.**

**See you later and sorry for another cliff-hanger.**


	28. Chapter 27: Savior of Sherwood

**A/N: As promised, the final chapter of the Robin Hood arc is here! Thanks again for the reviews everyone!**

**To Pokeball645: It's okay. Don't worry about it. Thank you, anyway.**

**Anywho, let's continue onward!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 27: Savior of Sherwood.

"...What happened to the kids?" A familiar voice asked.

"I don't know, Johnny. But they are lucky to have not been caught." Another answered.

Riku felt disorientated as consciousness began to return to him. He still felt tired even as he slowly opened his eyes when he also felt a bit of water splash on his face. Groaning as he opened his eyes, his vision then cleared and the first people he saw were the concerned faces of Robin Hood who splashed a bit of water from a wooden bucket, and Little John who was doing the same to Mickey, which whom was also waking up with a moan of his own.

"What? How did..." Riku began, holding a hand to his face and then realized that he was leaning against a rock in another area that seemed well hidden. Then his memories came back instantly and he blinked in realization. "How did we here?"

"Me and Rob found you kids sleeping on the ground this morning and brought you both here." Little John answered, as Mickey rubbed his eyes to regain his senses.

"And good thing too, because as soon as things calmed down, well...Prince John has really made a big threat this time." Robin added.

"What happened?" Riku asked.

Mickey, relieved that his friends were safe, asked in concern as he was still waking up. "Is everybody alright?"

"Well, yes and no. Maid Marian and Lady Kluck are okay. They're both at the nook in Sherwood Forest, but after what happened yesterday, Prince John not only raised the taxes, but he arrested everyone in the village." Robin answered, with a look of guilt and concern on his expression.

"What!?" Riku exclaimed in shock.

"To make things worse, Friar's also arrested and from what Johnny and I found out, he's going to be hanged by dawn tomorrow." The fox continued, which made the two Keyblade Wielders gasp in horror.

"Oh no! How could Prince John do that if Friar didn't to anything wrong?" Mickey cried out. He couldn't believe it. Not only the lion Prince was cruel and had arrested everyone in Nottingham just because they couldn't pay their taxes, but Friar Tuck, a kind priest, was goign to be hanged as well.

"Because he only cares about himself." Riku answered as he thought about it. "Just to get what he wants, everyone else's lives mean nothing to him. That's what it is."

Just like Master Xehanort. The elderly Keyblade Master had given up on the Realm of Light and has sought out the answers to the deadly and forbidden Keyblade War from centuries ago, and would gladly take away many lives of anyone and everyone just to make history repeat itself and gain the X-Blade, to destroy everything and see what happens next, and if Riku didn't know any better, if Xehanort controlled Kingdom Hearts with the weapon, he could rebuild everything and become ruler of ignorance and power.

Like Ansem the Wise had predicted with Xemnas's goal before his death.

"He also wants me, because he hates helping everyone else." Robin Hood agreed, with a look of determination. "That's why Johnny and I are gonna do a jailbreak tonight. It's only way to save everyone, especially Friar."

"Which between you and me, kid, I'm really worried about." Little John whispered to Mickey discreetly.

Mickey could understand it, because there was a chance that anything could go horribly wrong. Plus jailbreaks meant sneaking in without getting caught, saving everyone and then sneaking back out again. However, the very idea of Friar being hanged when he didn't do anything wrong was horrible. Prince John has gone too far.

He and Riku both shared a glance and after a mental conversation with their eyes, nodded in unison and firm agreement and turned back to their new friends, knowing what has to be done.

"Let us help you." Riku requested.

"Are you sure? You two are already in trouble as it is, and I don't want to risk anyone else getting caught." Robin Hood asked, while Little John was thinking that this was a bad idea.

"We were already on their bad cases even after saving Friar's life, especially the Sheriff taking our money. Besides, you need all the help you can get, and with the Heartless around, it'll make things more dangerous." Riku pointed out.

Robin and Little John shared a glance, and after a few moments of consideration, realized that he was right. They would need all the help they could get in saving everyone without getting into anymore trouble.

"Alright. We need to come up with a plan." Robin Hood finally answered, and so he and the other three formed in a circle to come up with how they can do this.

* * *

Later that night, well very early in the morning, Riku, Mickey, Robin Hood and Little John silently sneaked to the walls of the Castle via a boat after crossing the moat surrounding it. They silently climbed up the ladder up the wall and peered up and what they saw made them realize that was going to be a lot more harder than they thought. Apparently Prince John wasn't taking any chances. Because they were guards on the ground on standby, and guard-archers on the opposite walls also on the look out.

The plan was that Little John, Riku and Mickey would get everyone out while Robin would sneak all of the gold to the villagers without alerting everyone. The four of them silently climbed over the wall, carefully climbed down and snuck through. Mickey used his Sleepza Spell to put at least some of the guards to sleep, or in the Sheriff's case, in deeper sleep since he was sitting on the chair, guarding the door of the jail, and then dragged him off and tied him up for good measure.

Once they were certain that they wouldn't alert anyone yet, Robin Hood silently approached the sleeping wolf and slowly took the keys before opening the jail's door lock, then handing them over to Little John, who, along with Riku and Mickey, silently tip-toed through the door and closed it behind them. With that, Robin Hood then separated from them to sneak into the royal treasury while the trio silently climbed up the stairs and found the first room of their plan.

Little John unlocked the lone jail cell and creaked the door open, as Mickey stepped in first, whispering as there sat against the wall on the floor was Friar, chained. "Friar?"

Hearing his voice, Friar, who had slowly began to lose hope, looked up and saw to his relief, was the trio. "Oh! Little John, Riku, Mickey! It can't be!"

"Shh. We're letting you and everybody else out." Riku shushed as Little John quickly worked on freeing the badger.

"Thank goodness." Friar sighed in relief, whispering. "My prayers have been answered."

* * *

Once Friar was freed, he joined the trio to sneak into the main jail cell where everyone, including Skippy and his family and friends, were chained up. But when they saw the four of them emerge through the door silently, they began to free the grateful villagers while explaining what was happening. Once they were all freed, they waited until the Rooster from a couple days ago saw Robin Hood silently climb his way up into Prince John's sleeping quarters which was also the royal treasury.

The Prince himself was snoring quite loudly in bed, with Hiss in a smaller-baby cot bed, snoring and hissing in his sleep. Both completely unaware that Robin Hood was quietly tying a rope on one end, and then attatched the other to an arrow and shot through the window of the jail cell. Little John then looped it around a hoop and then fired it back to the room, where it remained stuck above the other end of the rope. Robin Hood then silently tied each bag of gold onto the rope which began to slide into the room via being pulled by the others.

Then Little John, Riku and Mickey began to lead Friar and everyone down outside, sneaking past the guards while making sure everyone. It took the next few hours as dawn began to rise.

However, just as Robin Hood silently took another bag of gold from behind a pillow, and from the Prince's arms which was being held like a teddy bear, the Prince whimpered childishly and then sucked his thumb like a baby once more. Which unfortunately woke Hiss up, and just as Robin Hood, thinking he'd been left unseen, hurried out and grabbed hold of the rope to rejoin his friends, Hiss was shocked and, despite the drowsiness, the snake grabbed hold of a bag and held onto the Prince's bed which was then quickly dragged, much to Robin's horror.

And the horror of Mickey who saw what was happening and gasped.

"Uh-oh! Hurry and pull!" Mickey quickly exclaimed as he and Riku, also seeing what was happening, helped the Rooster and Little John to pull hard to save Robin Hoodn and retrieve the rest of the gold.

Prince John, awakened by the sudden movement and noise, let out a high-pitched scream and nearly fell ovef the balcony. He clinged onto the frame of his bed just as Hiss used his tail to cling onto his left leg, leaving Robin Hood with no choice but to scurry his way over.

"Guards, guards! My gold!" Prince John exclaimed, getting the guards' attention. The guards fired arrows at Robin, but kept on missing, and just as he finally reached the others, Prince John lost his grip and was pulled straight towards the cell, but crashed face first into the wall before falling onto the ground with a thud.

With that, Riku and everyone else left Hiss in the cell while running out as quickly as possible with all of the remaining gold. Prince John saw this and at first anger surged through his heart and darkness spreading once again, to which, unaware of him, the same figure that spied on Riku and Mickey, and then seen Aqua struggle earlier, stood hiding behind a tower witnessing the entire event.

"**A cowardly heart that still produces darkness. I think it's time to let that darkness out and end the misery of that foolish Prince.**" The figure thought to himself and snapped his fingers while mentally focusing on his powers, before teleporting away.

It triggered the darkness to flow out of Prince John who was oblivious to all of this and formed into a ball of darkness behind him, while he cried out in dismay. "Oh no, no, no! They're getting away with my gold!"

He then hurried to slam the door shut, but was unable to stop anyone from escaping and screamed out, "Guards, guards! To the jail!" only to now notice the forming giant Heartless that, to his horror, took form of a mutant sack of gold with slender arms with slender long fingers and legs, a large mouth in the middle with wisdom sharp teeth and ironically a lion's tail and ears.

Deciding to forget about the escaping prisoners for a moment, and to make things worse, the guards were charging towards him, Prince John quickly cried out. "Rhinos, halt! Stop! Desist!"

Too late, the guards knocked him over and the guards ended up charging through the wall, breaking off the jail door while accidentally carrying the screaming and wailing Prince John who held on for dear life in panic, and then all of them crashed through another wall, creating a large hole as they went. This though allowed Robin Hood and everyone to quickly their escape as they hurried towards a large cart, while dodging and avoiding the guards that attempted to recapture them. But as Robin Hood and his friends lead the way, the Heartless was making to chase after them which had the guards all run for their own lives as well.

"Robin! You and Little John take everyone to safety!" Riku called out, as he and Mickey both summoned their Keyblades, knowing that they have to fight. Despite the concerned looks, Robin and Little John reluctantly nodded and told them to be careful, but soon discovered that the guards decided to try their luck and despite continuously trying to avoid the Heartless, they were still knocked back unexpectedly.

The Heartless drew it's right slender arm and thrust it down like a giant whip to crush Riku and Mickey who both dodged it, causing it to crash onto the ground and sending rock and dust all over the place while making large cracks. The two Keyblade Wielders then attacked it's arm while dodge-rolling out of the way from when it attempted to swipe at them despite it roaring in pain. Riku then went for the legs and slashed it hard several times while Mickey leaped and chanted Gravita to force it to the ground. The younger Keyblade Master flipped backwards to avoid in getting crushed as the Heartless couldn't move at the moment due to the King's spell.

After giving the Heartless some strikes, Riku and Mickey were caught off-guard when it somehow regained some control and swiped them with it's other arm, sending them flying backwards while they screamed. Though they both regained their balance and flipped before landing safely, they both winced in pain at the surprisingly heavy injuries they rechieved. Mickey quickly handed Riku a potion while drank another of his own and the two jugged them down which healed them from most of their injuries before they saw that the Heartless somehow turned it's legs into wheels and speed towards them in a body-slam attack. Riku and Mickey both used Reflect to force it back and then the former chanted a Dark Blizzaga at it's face, freezing parts of it as well as it's left slender arm.

"Light!" Mickey chanted as he leaped up and shot out the white orb of light right at it's face, before the King struck it several times in his air-somersault skill, his Keyblade causing more damage as he went.

"Have some of this!" Riku taunted as he jumped over it's head and attacked the Heartless on it's back, somersaulting once as he dug his Keyblade deep into it's body which had the Heartless failed to try and get him and the King even with it's slender arms.

But as the two regrouped, the Heartless then became enraged and started to slam it's arms all over the place in an attempt to get them, forcing Riku and Mickey to block most of it in order to protect everyone else, even as it smashed through walls and barrels and inadvertedy helped Robin Hood and Little John drive off most of the guards by whacking some of them while the two freed other ale barrels from their hole, and crashed into the charging rhinos, knocking them over like bowling pins. The Heartless in the meantime then opened up the top of it's sack head and fired down several hard large explosive boulders of gold which rained down like a Meteor Spell. Riku and Mickey had to dodge each attack that was aimed directly at them before it stopped.

As it did, the Heartless then opened it's mouth and began to try and suck in the two Keybladers to devour them even though they tried hard not to be swallowed up, but the winds were becoming to powerful and both of them knew that if they didn't do something, then they would be eaten. The two then shared a look and nodded, knowing that there was only one thing to do. So, holding each other's hands as Riku shifted his Keyblade to his left hand, he and Mickey held up their weapons in a combined power of friendship which the tips of the Keyblades formed a light cube, which they then sent towards the Heartless who sucked it in and gobbled it up.

Unfortunately for the Heartless, the Light it ate up exploded in light from within and struck it from within, spreading across it's body as it roared in pain, severally injured, which allowed Riku and Mickey to race over and keep on attacking it even though it recovered a bit, but eventually the monster couldn't handle it anymore. It roared in defeat before slumping onto the ground with a massive thud, and just as with all other defeated Heartless, a single heart floated up before vanishing, while the body faded into oblivion.

Wasting no more time, Riku and Mickey hurried to rejoin the others since Robin Hood and Little John had to make sure the guards were mostly dealt with before they loaded the last of the villagers into the cart. Robin Hood then lowered the draw bridge, while Little John began to carry it out of the castle and towards Sherwood Forest with Friar helping by pushing, and Mickey, Robin Hood and Riku right behind them.

"Stop! My baby!" Skippy's mother cried out suddenly, and when everyone looked as Little John and Friar both stopped, they all gasped as they saw Skippy's youngest sister running after them.

"Mama, mama! Wait for me!" She cried out.

The trio skid a quick stop and doubled back, and Robin Hood, Mickey and Riku both deflected the shooting arrows before Mickey scooped up the little girl in his arms and the trio made a run for it back outside, even though the King had trouble in using his Keyblade to block more attacks, but Robin Hood and Riku blocked more arrows with a sword and the Keyblade. Unfortunately, one of the crocodile gators cut the rope that released the iron gates.

"Watch out!" Riku and Robin both chorused, and by the time Mickey looked up and gasped, the former two pushed him and the little girl out forward where he had to land on his back to soften the landing, just in time to see the gates slam shut, and left his two friends trapped on the other side.

"Riku! Robin!" Mickey cried out, horrified as he stood up just as Little John quickly came too late.

"Just go! We'll be fine!" Riku yelled back.

"Don't worry about us!" Robin added. Little John was reluctant before he scooped both Mickey the child up and hurried to rejoin the others despite the King's protests.

Left in the mercy of the recovered guards, including the Sheriff who managed to free himself, Riku and Robin both climbed up the gate and narrowly avoided the spears and axes. The two then jumped and grabbed hold a rope which Riku cut loose from a wall, and swung forward and up, knocking over the Sheriff who flew backwards and crashed into other guards. The two then climbed up the walls while avoiding more attacks, making their way back up towards Prince John's room.

Only to skid to a stop as they reached the room, and saw that the Sheriff was there with a torch as he attempted to swipe them, but set the curtains and soon the entire room on fire. Riku and Robin both fought back despite the wolf's brute strength, but the latter fought with a burning chair before Riku slashed the torch from the Sheriff's hands and Robin pulled the rug from underneath him, causing their enemy to slip and fall with a thud.

"This way!" Riku called out to his friend, as he leaped through the curtains with an opening with Robin quickly close behind, and the Sheriff tried to give chase but stopped when he saw, to his anger that he was too big ti fit through without burning himself and the fire was quickly spreading, so he had to make his way through and hoped that the fire will take out the two rouges.

The two of them in the meantime were forced to make their way higher up the tower as the flames became too intense, too hot and too high. Riku attempted to stop most of it with his Blizzaga, but as he and Robin Hood climbed up, the ice melted and the fire began to follow once more. Down below by the shore outside the castle, Mickey, Little John and even Skippy could only watch in horror and worry from the trees as their two friends were trapped.

Left with no other choice, Riku and Robin jumped and plummeted into the moat, landing in two be splashes, all the while Prince John and Hiss had arrived at the top of the ramparts and saw the whole thing.

"Kill him! Kill them both!" Prince John ordered furiously and impatiently.

The Archers quickly began shooting arrows as both Riku and Robin attempted to swim away, even as the arrows were too close. Unfortunately, both ended up gasping and then sank into the water, vanishing from sight. The archers stopped firing their arrows, and soon everyone waited to see the results, Prince John smiling evilly with hope that two of his enemies were gone, while Mickey, Little John and Skippy pleaded their two friends to resurface, hoping that they were alright.

Unfortunately, to their despire, all that arised was Robin's hat, with a single arrow right through it. The hearts of both Mickey and Little John sank just as fast.

"No! No. No." Little John muttered in horror and devastation.

"Riku...Robin...No. NO!" Mickey screamed in despair, falling to his knees as his heart plunged in devastation, all the while Prince John was celebrating, pleased that Robin Hood was finally dead.

"They're gonna make it...aren't they?" Skippy asked, his hopes fading until it was all gone when Little John couldn't say anything, but gazed to the ground with tears becoming visible in his eyes. The young rabbit gazed lower himself.

'_Riku..._' Mickey thought as he began to weep. Now he just lost another friend, and even worse, eventually he would have to tell Sora the devastating news that he lost his best friend. Now there were even lower on Guardians of Light and on top of that, Mickey knew that Riku and Robin had sacrificed themselves to save him and Skippy's little sister.

"...It's all my fault." He sobbed as his tears fell and the droplets landed into the water.

It wasn't until Skippy noticed something approaching shore; a reed. "Hey, what's that? Little John, Mr. Mouse! Look it! Look it!"

Despite the loss of their friends, Mickey and Little John looked up and saw what the child was looking at. Confused as the former wiped away his tears, the trio bend low to investigate the reed which then suddenly shot out a jet of water onto Little John's face, which the reed was followed by a familiar fox's head, and to the other's relief and shock, another head with silver hair belonging to a human teenage man rose up as well.

"Hey, what the..." Little John cried out, before he realized what happened as Robin Hood and Riku emerged, waist deep into the water and both looking perfectly all right, just a bit wet.

"RIKU!" Mickey exclaimed overjoyed, as he leaped into his friend's arms and hugged him tightly, emotionally laughing as he didn't want to let go. "You're alive!"

"Yeah, sorry for worrying you guys." Riku chuckled, hugging his friend back, and as he saw Mickey crying happily, it gave him a brief flash back of how Sora reacted when the younger teen realized that it was him in the form of Xehanort's Heartless.

"Man, you and Rob had us worried, especially Robbie." Little John chuckled as he wiped away the water, while Robin shook the water out from his ears. "I thought you were long gone."

"Aw, not Robin Hood." Skippy pointed out as he leaped into Robin's arms, the two of them hugging each other as the former continued. "He and Riku could've swum twice as far, huh, Mr. Robin Hood, sir?"

From the castle, Hiss saw this and even though it was disappointment, he was actually very glad that Riku and Robin Hood were safe and sound once more. "Look, sire! Look, they made it! They got away again!" Much to Prince John's shock and dismay.

Riku, Mickey, Robin and Skippy then looked up and both Robin and Skippy victoriously declared teasingly, "A pox on that phony King of England! Oo-de-lally!"

"Oh, no! It's so miserably unfair." Prince John complained, pounding the wall childishly as he whined. He was so close, SO CLOSE! He really thought he finished off Robin Hood this time, but instead his ultimate plan that should've been done this morning was utterly ruined before it even started this time. Why does that Robin Hood always win?

Hiss, knowing that this would happen, calmly scolded him. "Well, I tried to tell you, but, no, no, no, you wouldn't listen. Your traps just never work." He then added as he looked at the burning tower, unaware that Prince John was holding a club to attack him in anger. "And now look what you've done to your mother's castle."

This caused Prince John to stop and scream loudly at these words, causing him to suck his thumb once more while wailing. "_**Mommy!**_"

Yet this wasn't enough to stop him as he then began to try and bash Hiss who saw this and screamed while trying to escape the Prince's wrath, his pleads ignored. "Sire, No! Please! Oh, no!"

"You cowardly cobra! Procrastinating python! Aggravating asp!" John shouted accusing words as he chased Hiss all over the court yard, just as a slightly charred but still alive Sheriff emerged, only to stop in his tracks when he saw what was going on and, suddenly very scared, backed away and let the two run past him.

"Save me!" Hiss screamed as he continued to try and escape.

"Oooh! You eel in snake's clothing!" Prince John continued, following Hiss into another tower.

"Help! He's gone stark raving mad!" Hiss screamed loudly.

The Sheriff gulped, not sure what to do now, as he muttered to himself. "Just hope Prince John don't do that to me."

From below as Riku and Robin walked onto the shore, they, Mickey, Skippy and Little John saw Prince John react and then chased Hiss until they were gone from view, and the two Keyblade Wielders were rather stunned and amused of much of a crybaby the cowardly Prince was.

"I can't believe that Prince John is such a whimp." Riku remarked with a smirk, which made the others laugh.

But as the laughing ceased, Mickey then caught sight of something, or rather, someone to his left and softly gasped in shock as his eyes widened. From a short distance of the trees on the other side, he caught sight of Aqua who was frowning in his direction. Apparently so did Riku who sensed and looked up, but before the Keyblade Wielders could excuse themselves to approach her, for a split second the image of her former self appeared in front of her, with a sad expression and in another brief struggle, Aqua forced herself to use Riku's old Keyblade to summon another Corridor of Darkness behind her and then stepped inside before Mickey and Riku could stop her.

'_Aqua..._' The King thought sadly as he could only watch his friend run off on him and Riku again. They failed again to catch up to her, because they had been focused on saving this world from the darkness.

Riku could only gaze in somber, and softly sighed. While rescuing the villagers and escaping with the gold was a success, the mission to retrieve the corrupted Keyblade Master was still ongoing, and if he and Mickey didn't catch up to her soon, the Organization would have it's final vessel.

* * *

Once everyone gathered in Sherwood Forest and a very relieved Maid Marian embraced her lover, later that morning, they were seeing Riku and Mickey off as the two decided that it was time to leave, especially since, to everyone's surprise, King Richard had returned and after he was told what had happened, thanked the two travelers of what they done and gave Robin a pardon as he too knew of the bandit's kindness.

As for Prince John, Hiss and the now ex-Sheriff, they were arrested by the King's order.

"I cannot thank you both enough for what you have done. You are always welcome here whenever you wish." King Richard told both Riku and Mickey who smiled warmly at him.

"Thank you, your majesty." The two Keyblade Wielders bowed their respects.

"And you also have my blessing to marry Maid Marian, Sir Robin Hood." King Richard added, as the former bandit bowed his respects as did Little John while an overly happily Maid Marian hugged Robin and Kluckly emotionally smiled. He then teasingly whispered to Friar beside him, "It appears I will soon have an outlaw for an in-law."

He then laughed as did everyone else which soon faded despite everyone still wearing smiles.

"Hey, we still haven't repaid you guys to help you find your friend." Robin then remembered, as did Little John.

"Aw, it's okay. I don't think we'll find her around here anyway. But doesn't mean we're gonna give up in findin' Aqua." Mickey kindly declined.

"You kids sure you can handle it?" Little John asked, a bit concerned.

"Don't worry. We'll keep on looking, and never give up hope. The same way how everyone never gave up hope on you two guys." Riku reassured, adding to Robin Hood. "Like how you always kept on helping everyone who needed it."

Robin rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, then smiled sincerely and shook hands with Riku. "Thank you, Riku. You and Mickey will find your friend. You'll see."

"Thanks." Riku nodded.

"And congratulations to both you and Maid Marian! I know that you both will be happy together." Mickey added happily.

"Thank you. Be careful out there." Maid Marian replied as Robin nodded.

"You two kids take care of yourselves." Little John said.

"Farewell, friends." Friar waved.

Riku and Mickey both nodded, and shared their goodbyes to everyone of this world before they waved and began to walk down the path for a deserted spot to teleport back into their Gummiship and then leave behind the world of Sherwood Forest behind, to continue their quest to locate Aqua.

* * *

However, unknown to everyone and watching from a far distance of the woods, was the same figure who secretly summoned the Heartless in the first place, and smirked coldly to himself.

"**Hmph. Those two fools still believe they can restore the fallen candidate guardian of Light from the darkness. The only reason why both Riku and Sora were spared was because they had many friends to guide them back. But if plunged in nightmares of darkness, none will ever return to the light. Not even their minds would be able to resist.**" He said to himself, and he lifted up his hood to reveal himself...

As the corrupted Terra from twelve years ago, still with silver hair and yellow eyes when Master Xehanort's heart took over his body. He then summoned a Corridor of Darkness and retreated out of this world and rejoin the rest of the Organization.

* * *

_Meanwhile, Sora's Station of Awakening-Flash Back:_

_The last thing Sora remembered before he lost consciousness was Marluxia blasting some kind of sleeping wind on his face. After that, he soon found himself falling into darkness, in what he thought was another dream. It seemed similar as well as familiar, because as he slowly descended, below he noticed his Station of Awakening._

_As the teenager touched down gently, he noticed that, like when he travelled back in time to start his Mark of Mastery exam, Sora was now once again in the form of his fourteen year old self. What was going on now?_

_**There is one of the Seven Lights only your heart shall be entwined with...**_

_Sora softly gasped as he looked around, but found he was once again alone. It was that weird voice again and like many times before, he had no idea what it was talking about. Then, to his great confusion, a mirror suddenly appeared, but rather than seeing the reflection of what currently looked like, instead he saw himself...his fifteen year old self in his travel clothes on his second journey and just after his most recent adventure in Olympus and before gaining his new clothes._

_**Take a step forward. Can you do it?**_

_With nothing else to do, Sora mentally shrugged and approached the mirror while his other self copied his movements. Once he stood in front of it, he started at it for a moment before carefully reaching out to touch the glass. As he did, the teenager was pulled through, and with a startled cry, he __went through the mirror and suddenly felt himself changing shape._

_Regaining his balance, Sora looked at himself and now saw that he was back to his fifteen/sixteen year old self. He then noticed that his pockets was glowing and when he looked down, and dug into it, he blinked in confusion as Kairi's good luck charm, which she gave back to him just before his and Riku's Mark of Mastery, was glowing in light._

_"Why is Kairi's good luck charm glowing in light?" He wondered aloud to himself._

_**A heart of light creates protection, connection, entwined bonds. Share it with the one close to your heart. Bond with it and your light will always guide you to whom you cherish most, whom you shall always protect, as you will be protected in return, with the power of the Key to save those who are lost, and those who ceased to be.**_

_Sora blinked. While he had no idea whom the person the voice was talking about, he had a feeling that it was also talking about the Key to Return Hearts. Just then, a door appeared, which resembled to the one from his first dream two years ago._

_**Hold out your Keyblade, and the one close to your heart shall appear before you. But you must fight through the tide to reach the Heart of Light.**_

_Almost automatically, Sora nodded and summoned the Kingdom Key and held it out. A beam of light shot out and hit the doors, opening it as a bright light shone through. It then flooded the area and Sora had to shield his eyes to avoid in being blinded. When it faded, he found that his Station of Awakening had changed colour around the image of himself and four of his friends, from blue to orange. _

_He then noticed, to his further confusion, water covered the glass station and he took a couple steps back, before he looked up and saw, adding more confusion yet also to his relief, was Kairi, just as the last time she saw her, and she seemed just as puzzled as he felt and then looked up to see him._

_The two of them smile in relief._

_But just as Sora was about to approach, he looked down and noticed that the water was receding. As he looked up, to his horror when he noticed Kairi looking behind her, a huge tidal wave was reaching it's pinnacle. Kairi gasped and turned to make a move to run, but something was holding her back, as though she was somehow glued to the floor._

_Frightened, Kairi reached out in desperation to him. "Sora!"_

_Sora gasped before he screamed out, "Kairi!" and ran quickly to try and reach her, his hand held out with a look of desperation of his own._

_Time seemed to slowed down even though the waves didn't. The two teenagers desperatedly reached out for each other as Sora was so close and yet still so far away. He couldn't lose her! Not again! Just as their hands were inches from touching, the wave crashed down onto them, not giving them time to even scream._

_Sora was pushed back slightly before he flipped over and regained his balance, looking up as he saw the rippling image of Kairi from the surface. Wasting no time to reach her, he swum up and then resurfaced, gasping for air as he shook his head, soaked in water and then saw he and Kairi were in the most unusual place of where only the water met the sky._

_Where were they? Sora didn't remember seeing this place in any of his dreams._

_"Sora!" Kairi's voice snapped him out of his confusion and as he looked, he smiled in relief._

_"Kairi!" Sora happily replied, as he and the Princess of Heart ran towards each other and met in the middle. Kairi immediately hugged him tightly around his lower waist, the same way she did when they finally reunited in the World that Never Was. He held her in his arms close to his chest, his heart beating in relief, unable to let himself release her. Even though it was just a dream, at the moment, it felt real enough for him to cherish this moment._

_"I thought you drowned..." Kairi whispered softly, as though desperately trying hard not to cry._

_'_Huh? Why is she..._' Sora thought to himself as he looked down at her, asking in confusion as well as concern. "Wait a second. You mean you're...actually here?" _

_He didn't like seeing Kairi cry. It always ached his heart knowing that she was either scared or hurt or upset and made him feel useless, not sure how to comfort her._

_"Huh?" Kairi muttered, sounding confused herself, as she and Sora reluctantly let go of each other and stared at him in confusion. "Of course I am. Wait, so you're not an illusion?"_

_"Huh? I thought you were the illusion in my dream." Sora replied._

_"Your dream? So...this is just a dream? What's happening?" Kairi asked, as she and Sora looked around their surroundings again. Where they sharing the same dream? That was unusual._

_"I have no idea." He honestly responded, folding his arms to his chest. "One minute, Donald, Goofy and I were confronting this guy named Marluxia who's with the real Organization and stopping us from saving a girl named Rapunzel who apparently is the light of her world, and then the next he used this weird magic and I passed out."_

_Kairi couldn't help but gasp in shock when she heard this, and then she asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"_

_"I think so. What about you? How'd you get here?" Sora replied._

_"I think I...was too exhausted and passed out." Kairi somewhat sheepishly replied. "Axel and I were training and well...it's a very long story. Because the next thing I knew, I was in the most strangest place." Then remembering how she passed out, she couldn't help but lower her head in worry. "I hope he's okay."_

_Before Sora could ask any further as he felt the sudden worry for Kairi as well as Lea, the entire strange area brightened in light, alarming him and Kairi as they looked around. The two shared another glance before they saw each other beginning to fade out and become covered in light. Becoming horrified on what was happening, the two quickly reach out for each other, before Sora's vision went white..._

* * *

_Back in the present with Sora's group, just hours after leaving the Kingdom of Corona..._

"Sora? Hey, Sora!"

"Ah!" Sora yelped, violently brought out of his reminiscence and nearly fell out of the pilot's seat of the gummiship, blinking as he then noticed Donald standing next to him with an annoyed look on his face after having yelled directly at his ear. "What was that for?"

"You weren't paying attention again, were you?" The magician asked back.

"Oh, sorry." Sora murmured, realizing that he must have zoned out again.

Goofy, seeing this, couldn't help but mention in growing concern. "Gee, Sora. You're kinda zonin' out a lot lately. Are you worried about somethin'?"

At first, Sora didn't know how to reply, but then he sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, thinking over the weird dream he had after Marluxia put him and his two friends to sleep before Tifa woke them up. Maybe it was part of the Organization plans to get to him as well as Kairi, despite that she and Lea were both in the Timeless Realm. Unless Xehanort somehow got to there and was giving them trouble as well.

That thought scared Sora. Scared that Kairi could be kidnapped all over again, and then he would have to rescue her, to make sure that she was okay. In truth, he didn't like the idea of her training to become a Keyblade Wielder, but at the same time, he couldn't always hold her back forever either. He would just have to keep her safe as much as possible despite that she had growing stronger and braver each day and year. Not only that, there were still Aqua, Ventus, Terra, Roxas, Namine and Xion to save.

"...When Marluxia put us to sleep, I had that dream again." Sora finally answered after a few moments. "'Cept this time, Kairi was there."

"Kairi?" Donald asked, a bit surprised and genuinely confused as were Goofy and Jiminy.

"Yeah, and it was as though...she was really was there, like we were both having some sort of connecting dream or something." The spiky-haired teen nodded, continuing. "I told her what happened to the three of us, and she told me that during her and Axel's training, both of them passed out and that she was worried about him."

"Oh, I'm sure Axel's fine. Nothing can beat him." Donald scoffed dismissively, though his tone said otherwise. He still didn't fully trust the former red haired Organization member, but he couldn't deny that Lea had helped out a lot as Axel either, or as a human. After all, it was Lea who saved Sora from behind Xehanort's final vessel when both Riku and King Mickey couldn't in time. Still, the fact that Kairi had the same dream as Sora did and the two even commuicated was also concerning.

"Except Roxas did." Sora corrected, adding. "I think it was just before...before he had to go back to being inside me, even though his heart had already grown to be a real heart by then. They had a fight, and Axel lost, but they must have had a fight, because they were making up to each other before they had to say goodbye."

"Was that another one of Roxas's memories you saw?" Goofy guessed, and the Keyblade Wielder nodded to confirm it. The captain of the knights then held a worried look. "Gawrsh, Axel really does miss 'im, huh? Sure hope he and Kairi are okay too."

"Me too. I wish we could go and see them." Sora agreed with a desponded sigh. Unfortunately, he knew that it would have to wait until after the two of them had finished their training, which could be just before they find the Key to Return Hearts, or after. Either way, they won't be seeing Kairi and Lea for a while.

"Don't worry, Sora. We'll see them again soon." Jiminy reassured from his spot on the arm rest. "Why, I betcha Kairi and Axel can't wait to see you and Roxas again either. And even this Xion person too."

Donald and Goofy both nodded in agreement, which Sora smiled warmly at the support he got. Jiminy was right. As long as all of them were okay, he would be seeing them again, and he promised himself to help Lea to restore Roxas and also to find Xion, to fully learn of what happened to her, and while he still didn't understand how or why she was connected to him, she is also important and deserved to be with her best friends again.

"Thanks." Sora responded, just as his pocket glowed in light which startled him and the others.

Which made them quickly remember what was in them and Sora pulled out the three Keys of Light before standing up and held them up as the lights grew stronger. He gently let go and the three pieces floated before the three crystals shot out three beams of light, and like before, becoming intertwined as one into the distance. Sora then summoned his Kingdom Key and held it out when it glowed, revealing another gateway.

The Pieces of Light then dimmed before returning to Sora who grabbed them gently as it stopped glowing all together.

"There's our next stop." Sora declared as he gave his friends a confident grin, which they nodded. With that, he steered their vessel and drove it right into the portal towards the next world of their quest.

Unaware that they would be making more new friends as well as meeting up with two who would be arriving in the very same world in their own quest.

* * *

**A/N: Thus ends the Robin Hood Arc, and the next chapter will reveal the Frozen Arc, which will be a tad bit longer. Why, do you ask? Because it's also the next world both Riku and Mickey will be in as well!**

**Though it'll have to wait for a while now, unfortunately. But I will come back to this as soon as possible!**

**See you later!**


	29. Chapter 28: The Frightened Ice Queen

**A/N: I'm back! And the Frozen arc has finally arrived! It took a while on how it would turn out, but I managed to pull through despite the other new story I put up(Couldn't help it). So, without further delay, let's hit the slopes and begin our icy adventure!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 28: The Frightened Ice Queen.

When Sora, Donald and Goofy landed in the new world, the Gummiship scanner revealing to be "_**Arendalle**_", they first thing they noticed was that they landed near the shores of the ocean, close to a kingdom. The second thing they discovered was that it was in the middle of winter, which Donald and Goofy had explained to Sora has the teenager had never heard of despite having gone up to the mountains in Land of the Dragons, and Christmas Town in Halloween Town.

It was also in the middle of the night when they arrived, and the third thing that they found was that, as usual, was the Heartless. Goofy smacked and destroyed one of the Soldier Heartless, and Donald blasted a Firaga Spell at two others. Sora, stance ready as the fight was already nearing the end, charged and struck down the last Soldier Heartless in an instant. But as he landed and dismissed his Keyblade, an icy breeze blew and he shivered violently.

"_**Brr!**_ It's cold!" Sora shuddered, rubbing his arms and dancing a bit to try and stay as warm as possible. While his new clothes were impressive, unfortunately they didn't provide any warmth. "Donald, gimme a coat!"

"The magic doesn't work that way." Donald pointed out, exasperated by the teenager's complaints.

"Guess he's too used to the beach. Ahyuck!" Goofy said thoughtfully. Given how Sora had grown up on the islands, he understood his younger friend's zero tolorence for the colder weather. Though on the other hand, it was rather chilly.

"Hey, islander, what can I say?" Sora pointed out the obvious. Okay, so maybe he was being a bit over dramatic, but for some reason it was more colder here in this world than it was in mountains like the one in China and the snow in Christmas Town. So cold in fact as he turned to the water, he blinked as he noticed the water was freezing up. "Look! Even the sea's turning to... ice..."

In a matter of seconds, in fact he realized. Which was unusual. His friends noticed this too, because they blinked in confusion at this turn of events. The trio approached the edge of the water and saw that it was somehow magical rather than natural.

"Donald, this isn't your magic, is it?" Sora inquired. The answer he got was a shake of the head from the magician.

"Do you think it's the Heartless?" Goofy asked, which made good sense considering how much trouble those things always cause and each time there has been new types wherever they went.

"Might be." Sora nodded in agreement, thinking along the same lines. "Let's go."

But just as they were about to investigate, something caught Sora's line of vision at the corner of his eye and when he turned his head to look, his eyes widened as he quickly discovered already that it wasn't the Heartless causing the ice to freeze. But rather...a young woman, with light blue-green eyes, white hair tied up in a bun, wearing a black long dress, a single long light-ish blue-green glove that went up to her elbow, with it's partner absent, and a long dark pink cape, literally running on the water and each running step she made, the symbol of snow flakes appeared underneath her.

As Sora followed her with his eyes, he caught the expression on her face. She looked frightened and sad, as though she was running away from something or someone. Somehow he could sense the light inside her despite her unusual magic which is the source of the water freezing.

'_That girl...she looked so sad._' Sora thought to himself. He, Donald and Goofy then jumped slightly when the sea had completely froze up just as the girl had reached land and continued running up the hill and continued onward on the path towards the mountain.

"I wonder what happened. Maybe the Heartless?" Sora muttered aloud. After a quick thought of consideration, he decided that they should go and ask her and keep her safe just in case. "We should talk to her."

Donald and Goofy both nodded in agreement, before following their friend who took the lead to find the girl. Yet none of them were aware that this wasn't the only thing happening as of this moment in this world.

Because two others would discover the other side of this new development.

* * *

_Meanwhile, back with Riku and Mickey, roughly the same time as Sora's arrival..._

When Riku and the King arrived in the new world which they discovered was called Arendalle, at first it seemed like a nice summer evening and had just arrived in a kingdom that seemed to be celebrating something. There was a large crowd of people standing outside of the castle's gates and all looking rather very excited about something.

"I wonder what's happening here." Mickey thought aloud.

"Must be a celebration or something." Riku shrugged as everything seemed rather peaceful. "It's a wonder why Aqua would come here."

"I'm not sure. I hope that the darkness hasn't gotten to her that she could hurt people. The Organization are still after her, and those who have the same amount of light as the Princesses." The King whispered, still concerned. Given that they couldn't even go up to Aqua in Sherwood Forest that their search for the corrupted Keyblade Master was getting more difficult.

Riku understood his friend's worries, yet that wasn't the only thing on his mind. After what Marluxia had done back there, and that he was the one that messed up with Sora's memories and tried to use him and Namine two years ago, and had said in attempting to recuit Aqua for the Organization made the silver haired teen fear that if they didn't find her soon or if Sora didn't find the Key to Return Hearts in time, then they wouldn't be able to form up the Guardians of Light and Xehanort may very well target the Princesses of Heart. But then, why would they target Pocahontas and then go through him and somehow hurt the replica inside him?

_"Once a heart full of pure light surrenders their power to another, they are no longer in any use to side with the light."_

'Ansem's' words about that statement back in Jamestown echoed in Riku's mind and he shook his head to try and ignore that statement, but somehow he couldn't help but start to think that maybe things were different with the Princesses now. A heart of pure light surrendering their power to another, and no longer siding with the light? Did something happen to six of the Princesses of Heart that made the Organization start to target new and unaware maidens of light that have the same quality of them and Kairi? Or was the Organization trying to lure them away from protecting them?

Though Mickey had sensed the light within Pocahontas's heart.

_"But this world has someone with a heart full of light. I can feel it. Come to think of it, it's like with the Princesses of Heart."_ He had said, and it was then that they met the young native.

'_Maybe Aqua is following the lights of others, too. But then, Maid Marian's heart is full of light but the Organization weren't after her. They weren't even after Robin Hood even though he was the world's hope. I think we should ask Master Yen Sid about this._' Riku thought to himself, becoming deeply concerned even more.

He and Mickey were brought out of their thoughts when the doors opened and revealed a young woman with white hair and a panicked look, named Elsa who had just been crowned Queen, barged through only to stop when she saw the huge crowd in front of her.

"There she is! It's Queen Elsa!" Someone exclaimed in excitement in the crowd who, except for Riku and Mickey who both gazed at her in slight awe, but noticed the growing fearful look on her face, began to applaud. Elsa, however, ran past them and ignored the confused murmurs from the people, and an in instant, Mickey softly gasped his eyes widened. Even before the apparent newly crowned Queen passed him, for a brief moment he saw a flash and flicker of light within her. The same as he felt in Pocahontas.

'_That light...could she be like Pocahontas and is this world's light?_' Mickey thought to himself. If so, why was she so afraid and running from the crowd? Something strange was going on, and on top of that, it seemed to be blocked by something...the lingering fear or power...

Elsa then skid to a stop when she saw a young mother with a baby in her arms, which had the Queen to back up, her panic increasing which was beginning to worry everyone. Especially Mickey and Riku. But as she nearly tripped over and into a fountain behind her, she touched the marble surface. As she did, it instantaneously begins icing over. The water in the fountain then froze, which made the crowd gasp, startled.

"Was that...ice?" Riku asked softly, in shock. He then noticed that Elsa was only wearing one glove and given the horrified expression she currently held, his eyes widened as he realized what was happening; either her powers were newly discovered or she'd been hiding them by wearing those gloves and it was the only way to control them. Because with them, her powers are out of control and her fear only seems to increase it.

Just when a man, who was known as the Duke of Weselton, and a group of guards also appeared, as he pointed accusingly at the terrified Queen. "There she is! Stop her!"

"Please, just stay away from me! Stay away!" Elsa pleaded as the Duke and the guards began to approach her. Which is something Riku and Mickey couldn't allow. Uncontrollable powers or not, they knew that Elsa was a good person and was more scared of herself and her magic.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Riku shouted as he and Mickey hurried over to try and protect the Queen, but they were suddenly forced to stop half way as Elsa held out her un-gloved hand, only for an unexpected blast out and cast the set of stairs on ice, which made the duke and his thugs to lose their balance, slip and then fall, painfully sliding down all the way to the ground.

"Monster! Monster!" The Duke yelled accusingly.

Elsa only looked even more terrified, and with only one choice left, she turned and made a run for it. But as she did, a snow storm suddenly began to form around the Kingdom, quickly spreading across the land just as another young woman, with ginger hair and matching eyes wearing a summer royal dress emerged with a young man with brown hair and a royal clothes behind her. Their names were Princess Anna and Prince Hans.

"Elsa!" Anna cried out, as she and Hans quickly began to follow.

"Wait! Your Majesty!" Riku cried out, as he and Mickey made to follow, and despite everyone else being in a panic, most of them saw how terrified the Queen was and, seeing the Princess and the visiting Prince giving chase along with two strangers they never seen before, all tried to call out to her. But Elsa kept running, out of the front gates and towards the water's edge, blindly running in fear which soon made the water freeze underneath her.

Before Riku and Mickey could continue onward towards the fjords to which Anna and Hans managed to run ahead after the Queen, a group of Heartless that took form of reindeers soon appeared and blocked their path.

"Get out of the way!" Riku yelled as he and Mickey both quickly summoned their Keyblades. They charged forward and began to fight the Heartless that attempted to cause even more problems that the citizens of the Kingdom and those who were just visiting for the coronation didn't net.

Riku wasted no time in cleaving a pottery Heartless that also appeared as he struck it down quickly before he avoided the attack of one of the reindeer Heartless that charged at him and tried to knock him down with it's hooves and antlers. He blasted a dark Firaga which seemed to help a lot and then leaped high into the air to avoid the sudden appearances of two Styr Heartless that charged foward. Though one managed to punch him and he yelled out while hitting the ground, but quickly got back up and dodge-rolled out of the way to avoid another attack before taking it down with skilled slashes and did the same with the other.

Mickey cast Firaga at one of the Reindeer Heartless and finished it off with an agile swipe of his Keyblade, before he spin several times with his mid-air somersault skill and slashed another which forced it to crash into another Styr Heartless. The King then used his Pearl magic to defeat them and narrowly avoided in being caught by another styr Heartless. He was hit by the shock wave of it's punch after it missed him, which the shock wave also hit Riku who winced before dodging another Heartless's attack. Mickey quickly finished it off before using Curaga on his friend and himself.

The two friends continued to fight the Heartless until the last of them were defeated, even though the icy breeze of the newly created snowstorm blew onto them and as the dismissed their Keyblades, Riku and Mickey both shivered as they huddled up and rubbed their arms to avoid in instantly freezing.

"_**Brr!**_ I never realized just how cold snow is without that coat." Riku shuddered, wishing that he kept that coat Ansem the Wise gave him. He had been to places with snow before, like when he was in the form of Xehanort's Heartless and had to run in order to avoid Sora in seeing the way he was back then. But at least during that time in the Land of the Dragons, the coat kept him warm.

"W-well, snow in the middle of summer is very unusual." Mickey pointed out, shivering himself. First he'd been kind of enjoying the warmth of the summer night, and now he and Riku were freezing in the middle of the quick winter's night.

He then shrugged apologetically when he realized what he just said. "Though, I guess since you grew up on the islands, you never had this sorta thing, huh?"

"Not when you're wearing summer clothes almost every day, and wearing shirts and shorts in this weather isn't such a good idea." Riku agreed, not willing to deny it. "Still...I don't think Elsa has any control of her magic right now."

"You're right." The King agreed with a worried frown, having thought of the same thing as his friend did. "What had happened was just an accident. Not sure how she came to have that kind of power, but I got a feelin' that she's scared of it. Hmm, not only that, I sensed a strong light within her heart and like with Pocahontas, her light is just like the Princesses of Heart."

"Then that explains why the Heartless are here, and that means-" Riku began, only to cut himself off when he and Mickey saw a sorrowed and guilty looking Princess Anna and a concerned looking Prince Hans approach, only to stop when they saw the two of them.

"Are you okay?" Mickey asked the two.

"Not really..." Anna sighed, feeling guilty for what had happened. She then realized who she was talking to and asked. "Oh, sorry. Who are you two?"

"I'm Mickey." Mickey replied.

"My name is Riku." Riku introduced himself.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Riku and Mickey. My name is Anna; Princess of Arendalle." Anna replied, smiling a little, and then introduced Hans next to her. "And this is Prince Hans."

"Pleasure to meet you." Hans spoke up.

"Princess...wait, so that means-" Riku cut himself off again in shock, before he and Mickey quickly stood in attention.

"Yes. Elsa is my older sister, and today is her Coronation as Queen of Arendalle." Anna answered, after she and Hans shared a confused look at how the two travellers attempted to respect their royalty. "Anyway, I'm sorry for what happened, and for my sister running away like that."

"Well, gee. We were wonderin' about what just happened." Mickey admitted, still a bit shocked over the situation. But it was that instant that as he gazed at Anna, like with Elsa, he could sense and see another strong light within the Princess's heart. His eyes widened as he sensed this and found himself shocked over this. Could Anna be like her older sister and Pocahontas too? If so, then that would mean...this world had two lights and not just one, which is again unusual.

Before Anna could even explain what happened or even ask why the mouse looked shocked all of the sudden, behind them the Duke and his thugs ran up behind the King and Riku who turned to see them and glared at the group.

"Look! It's snowing! It's snowing! The Queen has cursed this land! She must be stopped!" The Duke cried out in a mixture of horror and sudden anger. Coming to a conclusion that Elsa was evil, he turned to his men and ordered them urgently, "You have to go after her."

"Wait, no!" Anna protested as she ran up to the Duke who, noticing her, gasped in fright and hidden himself behind his guards.

"You!" He began, pointing at her with suspicion. "Is there sorcery in you, too? Are you a monster, too?ǃ"

"No! No, I'm completely ordinary." Anna quickly answered, while Riku and Mickey glared at the Duke in annoyance and anger, as did Hans.

"That's right, she is..." Hans began, only to notice Anna's confused expression and, realizing what he was saying, added rather sheepishly. "In... in the best way." That earned him a smile from the young woman.

"What happened back there was an accident. She didn't want to hurt anyone." Riku added as he and Mickey approached, which Anna looke at both of them with a grateful smile.

"She tried to kill me!" The Duke protested.

"You slipped on ice." Hans pointed out, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"Her ice!"

"It was an accident, just like Riku said." Anna stated, adding. "She was scared. She didn't mean it. She didn't mean any of this. Tonight was my fault. I pushed her, so I'm the one that needs to go after her."

"What? Anna, no. It's too dangerous." Hans protested worriedly, realizing what Anna was about to do.

"Elsa's not dangerous." Anna scoffed, adding as her expression softened. "I'll bring her back and I'll make this right."

"We'll go with you." Riku declared as he and Mickey gazed at the Princess. "Elsa isn't dangerous, but there are Heartless who are. You can't go out by yourself, and if anything, she's in danger and you will only put yourself in danger if you go alone."

"Heartless?" Anna and Hans asked, confused.

"They're monsters who hurt people no matter where they go." Mickey explained. "Not only that, we wanna help Elsa, too."

Despite that Anna knew that, given that this whole thing started during an arguement and a disagreement between her and Elsa, seeing that both Riku and Mickey were serious about this made her worry about her older sister even more, and increased her guilt for not thinking straight earlier. It was really her fault. If she hadn't fought with her, none of this would have happened. Though maybe if she knew about her sister's secret in magic in the first place, the argument wouldn't have started either. But she'll worry about that later.

Right now, Elsa needed her, and Anna would need the help from the two who volunteered to help and knew about the unusual Heartless monsters.

"All right. Thank you." Anna finally nodded. Mickey and Riku both nodded back.

"I'm coming with you." Hans declared, but Anna shook her head.

"No, I need you here to take care of Arendalle." She told him desperately, knowing that the Kingdom needed someone of royal blood in order to calm everyone down in her and Elsa's absence until they both returned.

Seeing the desperation in her eyes and realizing that she had a point even without her explaining what needs to be done, Hans nodded. "On my honor."

But as Riku and Mickey gazed at him, they both couldn't help but feel slightly suspicious. Despite Hans words and showing concern for Anna's safety, there was something...not right with the Prince. In fact, both of them could see a hint of something quite dark in the man's eyes, but for now, they had to worry about that later. Anna needed their help.

Nodding and sharing a glance with her two new companions who nodded back, Anna and the others returned to the courtyard where she announced that she would leave Prince Hans in charge and promising that she will be careful. After that, Anna, Riku and Mickey set off on their journey to find Elsa...

Who had unknowingly past Sora, Donald and Goofy who were unaware of their two friends being here as well.

* * *

Meanwhile, as Sora, Donald and Goofy followed Elsa up the path towards the mountain and fighting off more Heartless along the way, they finally noticed her slowly walking through an opening of a small canyon, continuing up the mountain. Sora's heart ached as he could sense more of the sadness within her, but at the moment not knowing why. He knew then, he had to do something to cheer her up.

"Hey, hold up!" He called out, causing Elsa to stop and turn just as Sora, Donald and Goofy finally approached and came to a stop just a few feet away from her.

"Why are you here? Where did you come from?" Elsa asked, nervously. Did these unfamiliar people followed her? Did Anna send them? She'd been so busy in running away in fear that she hadn't been paying attention. Not even to the silver-haired boy and his mouse companion.

"Hi. I'm Sora." Sora greeted friendly, and, even though Donald gave him a scolding frown, he knew that he had to be careful on his next choice of words. "And I'm from, let's just say, someplace a little...warmer."

Donald had been seconds in discreetly telling Sora to follow the Order, but stopped himself when the teenager managed to not fully reveal where he was from and not lie at the same time. He smiled proudly before introducing himself to the white haired woman. "I'm Donald."

"And I'm Goofy." Goofy added.

Despite the friendly greeting, Elsa couldn't help but still feel wryry, as she asked the trio. "Are you visiting Arendelle? For the coronation?"

Sora blinked in confusion, before seeing Donald and Goofy nod and he quickly caught on that they couldn't reveal their reason for being here which was looking for the fourth Piece of Light, and while Sora didn't know anything about a coronation, decided to go along with his two friends.

"You got us." He lied carefully, before asking. "So, what's your name?"

"Elsa." Elsa replied, shyly and feeling terrible for how the coronation turned out today. "Queen Elsa of Arendelle."

"What!? The Queen!?" Sora exclaimed in shock, as Donald and Goofy both jumped in surprise. So Elsa was the newly crowned Queen of the kingdom? Realizing that they had been too casual with the royal, they quickly stood in attention to fully respect her. While none of them knew why the Queen had been running up here, they knew they had to speak even more carefully at her.

"You shouldn't be out here." Elsa informed them, as calmly as she could. She didn't want to hurt them with her powers, or be around anyone due to what happened in the Kingdom earlier. "Please go back to the village."

"Why?" Sora asked, curiously and already concerned as were his friends. "Your Majesty, you look like you could use a friend. Don't you want to talk?"

Elsa stopped, but didn't look back. She did want comfort, but as of this moment, she couldn't trust herself without freaking out again. "Please leave. I need to be alone. I don't want to hurt anyone."

"Is it that bad?" Sora replied, realizing that something terrible happened and Elsa was in the thick of it, because she was somehow scared of herself. "You must've been through a lot."

"We know what that's like, don't we?" Donald added, sharing Sora's attempt to cheer Elsa up, and sharing the teenager's concerns.

"Sure, adventuring's fun, but it definitely has its ups and downs." Goofy agreed, just as concerned. He then added reassuringly. "When the going gets tough, us friends have to stick together!"

"Exactly!" Sora nodded, before commenting to Donald when he gazed at magican's direction. "Although, Donald, you do lose your temper a lot, so... I can relate to wanting some alone time."

"What? I don't do that!" Donald pouted, glaring at him. Though as the two talked, they were unaware that Elsa was becoming even more flustered, and despite that they were only trying to cheer her up, and she did appreciate it, it only increased her desire to not hurt them or anyone else. How can she be around people if she had no full control of herself?

But the way how Sora commented about Donald's temper and how the latter was denying it in annoyance only triggered recent memories of how Elsa had her argument with her sister that caused this mess to happen in the first place. The urge to be left alone continued to grow.

"Enough!" She shouted, turning around. But as she thrust out her un-gloved hand, a burst of ice blasted out and to the shock of the trio, sharp icicles formed on the snow-covered ground and pointed at Sora, Donald and Goofy who jumped back a little in complete disbelief with eyes wide. Elsa's eyes copied theirs, but more of horror as her sudden anger had also caused this to happen and that made her feel even more terrified. She hadn't meant to do that.

"Elsa...did you-" Sora began, only to be cut off when something behind the Queen caught his, Donald and Goofy(who took a careful closer look at the spikes)'s attentions and gasped as all of the sudden reindeer Heartless appearedon cliff sides, and leaped down to make the attack. Elsa turned around and gasped in shock and fear, wondering where these unusual 'animals' had come from.

"The Heartless!" Goofy exclaimed, as he followed Sora and Donald to quickly stand in front of Elsa, summoning their weapons to face the monsters.

'_What? They have...magic too? How did they do that without losing control?_' Elsa thought to herself, as she had seen Sora, Donald and Goofy summon the Keyblade, Staff and Shield, not showing any fear at all.

"Don't worry. We got 'em." Sora reassured Elsa, adding quickly. "Take cover!"

Even though she was concerned about them, Elsa realized that they knew what to do as they were capable warriors. So instead she nodded and hurried to find a place to hide while Sora's group faced off the Heartless.

Sora tossed the Kingdom Key right at one of the reindeer Heartless who attempted to block it with it's antlers, but that didn't do much as it went through the head before it had a chance, and was hit twice before being destoryed. As he caught his weapon, Sora then jumped to the side when the other Heartless charged and had to repeat it when the other one nearly bashed him with it's head. He wasted no time in chanting Thunderaga to zap it and then did a double jump to avoid the two reindeer Heartless from squashing him, and thus both ended up bashing into each other, knocking each other out. He finished them off as he descended by thrusting his Keyblade down hard in a strong thrust.

Donald used a combination of his Firaga and Thunderaga Spells to defeat the pottery Heartless that looked similar to those like in Agrabah. He then screamed when another reindeer Heartless nearly trampled him, but he managed to avoid this attack by running away, and then quickly used his Fireworks Spell to defeat it and the other Heartless as he went. Quickly finding a good place to jug down two of his last elixirs and making a mental note to find and buy more later, Donald felt his magic rejuvenate before he repeated the procress against the rest of the monsters.

Goofy whacked and bashed the Heartless with his Shield, and held it up to protect himself to block a reindeer who attempted to bash him with it's antlers. While he was knocked back a little, the Heartless had it worse off because it was knocked back even further and bumping into two other reindeer Heartless. Seeing this made Goofy do his Goof-Nado skill and spun around and around quickly while knocking away the three Heartless as well as the other different types of the monsters as he went, defeating them before he stopped and wobbled a bit, dazed as this skill still made him dizzy for a short time.

The trio continued fighting the Heartless until they were certain the last of them were gone for now and dismissed their weapons just as Elsa, seeing that everything was calm and having realized that they had saved her, approached them once more.

"Elsa, are you okay?" Sora asked, wanting to make sure that the Queen was alright.

The young woman nodded, before apologizing. "I...I'm sorry I was so upset. Thank you for your help."

But before the trio could reply, one last reindeer Heartless was running up towards all four of them and Elsa let out a gasp and squeezed her eyes shut, exclaiming while holding out her hands. "Look out!"

As she did, her magic shot out once more and rather than simply freezing the Heartless, the attack destroyed it as the heart vanished from sight. Sora, Donald and Goofy, who had turned around too late, gapped in awe at how Elsa managed to destroy the Heartless by herself. The Queen opened her eyes and saw that the Heartless was gone and her heart figuretively froze in horror at this. She had just...killed it. While she had a feeling those things were dangerous, she couldn't believe what she had done.

"Whoa...That's amazing." Sora remarked as he and his friends turned back to her. "You can control ice."

"Control it?" Elsa replied, before pointing out as she backed up a bit. "No, all I ever do is...is hurt people."

"It's okay." Goofy reassured. "Those were just the Heartless."

"You said that word before." Elsa stated. "What are they?"

"Monsters that are after people's hearts. Wherever they go, there's trouble." Sora explained firmly.

"They're after people's hearts?" Elsa asked, more fear and guilt forming in her chest. This never happened before as far as she was aware of, and everyone in the kingdom never mentioned anything about the monsters either. Could it be that because of her magic that they started to appear? Was she the cause of the Heartless appearing? Maybe it was best if she never returned, because if she did, then those things would harm the Kingdom.

"Yes, they're dangerous!" Sora answered, informing the Queen. "You should head home before it gets any worse."

To his and the others' shock, Elsa turned around once more and began to walk away, saying. "This is my home now. I can't go back. I don't want to hurt anyone."

"What?" Sora gasped.

"Arendalle is safer with me staying up here." The Queen replied, not looking back, having made her mind up.

Sora couldn't believe what he was hearing, and instead began to run up to her as he pointed out, "Not safer for you!"

But Sora was forced to stop when a large ice wall suddenly emerged from the ground and grew until it was too high and much too thick for him to climb or break through. Elsa looked back once, having unexpectedly made the wall that blocked the boy and his friends from approaching her, and then ran away further up the mountain as she pleaded them to go away, vanishing into the path and woods without looking back again.

"Elsa..." Sora murmured softly, placing both hands onto the ice wall. He didn't know what to do now. He knew that Elsa didn't want to hurt anyone, but it just felt wrong to leave her isolated like this just to avoid in hurting everyone rather than accepting the help and the much needed comfort. Just when he felt the familiar jolt he'd felt since Twilight Town and through out some parts of his journey in his mind and even in his sleep.

Another memory that wasn't his appearing in his mind's eyes and clouding his vision...

* * *

_Ven had just returned to the town square of Radiant Garden after Terra's departure. When he arrived, he found Aqua since he'd been looking for her despite their last words earlier. He called out to her which got her attention, as she looked as though she'd been in a fight. Probably with the Unversed, he thought._

_"Ven. Were you able to find him?" Aqua asked, referring to Terra._

_"__Yeah, but... He's gone." Ven replied, still admittedly disappointed, but he had felt a bit better knowing that Terra knew that he would be there if he was in need._

_"Right." Aqua nodded, disappointed herself but knowing what needs to be done. "Then I can't stay here."_

_Realizing that Aqua is about leave herself, and hoping that she would at least let him go with help find him and solve the mystery behind the Unversed and the masked guy, Vanitas and why he is causing so much trouble, especially with Terra, Ven then requested. "Let me go with you, Aqua."_

_"No, Ven." Aqua responded sharply with a serious expression. "Do as I say and go home."_

_Shocked by the harsh response, Ven looked down and sighed helplessly. "Why won't you let me?"_

_Sighing herself at her harsh reaction, Aqua told him more softly. "I don't want to put you in harm's way." She then placed a hand on his shoulder with her motherly expression, adding. "You understand?"_

_Ven said nothing, even as Aqua, thinking he did, summoned her Keyblade armor and walked past him before leaving. But more than anything, he knew that she had in in reverse. He was aware that she didn't want him to get hurt, but at the same time, she was also too protective. Despite that he could fight, neither of his friends or Master Eraqus would even let him prove himself, no matter how old he got and it wasn't fair._

_How can he ever be a Keyblade Master if no one was willing to let him prove himself? Ven was more than ready to defend the worlds and other people and so far has done so. So why was it, when he wanted to help his friends, that they instead insisted that he just returned home and stayed there? Did they all really think that he wasn't ready and was still just a kid? What was the point of being a Keyblade Wielder if they wouldn't let him prove himself?_

_It didn't make any sense at all..._

* * *

Sora blinked and softly gasped, his heart and chest aching as another memory that belonged to Ven vanished, but it left him...feeling rather odd and the same feeling he felt when he learned of what happened to Aqua reacted once more. He'd known that things haven't been easy for them or Terra, and he could understand Terra and Aqua's feelings towards Ven but...even he knew that it was a bit too much of overprotection. Maybe it was just the friendship instincts.

But none of that would help solve the problem that was going on with Elsa now. Sora would have to worry about that later after he found the Key to Return Hearts and restore Aqua back to normal and figure out how to help Ven, so that the two of them can reconcile.

"Aw, don't worry, she'll be okay." Goofy was saying, apparently not having noticed that Sora had another vision, and instead reassured him about Elsa. "Seems like she's pretty strong."

"You gotta let her go. She wants to be alone." Donald added, even though he held a concerned expression, but he wanted Sora to understand the situation and that there wasn't much else they could do for the distraughted Queen right now.

"Yeah, I hear you..." Sora sighed, resigned. Though he did mutter in worry and sympathy. "But I just wanted to know why she was so sad."

"And how is it any of your business? Read the room, kiddo." An unfamiliar female voice snarked behind the trio. Slightly alarmed, Sora, Donald and Goofy turned around to see that the female voice belonged to another woman, with short blonde hair with two front parts looking a bit like belonging to ants, and like when they met Marluxia, her eyes were golden, and she was wearing an Organization coat, and she had a nasty smile that they didn't like. It was Larxene.

"Who are you?" Sora demanded as he and his friend stood in positions, adding as he studied the coat. "That's...the organization coat? You new?"

"Excuse me?" Larxene asked, feeling insulted before she remembered that Sora's group had no memories of their fights in Castle Oblivion. "Oh yeah, you forgot."

She then introduced herself and saying, "The name's Larxene. This time, remember. And we'll take care of Elsa, so don't you worry."

Despite that the group were shocked to hear that the Organization were now after Elsa, what she said only confused them as they shared a glance, with Sora beginning to ask Donald, "Do you-"

"Nope." Donald answered before his friend to finish the question.

"Well, she seems to think she know us, so maybe we should play along." Goofy suggested, as he didn't remember Larxene either.

"Not unless her name's _"Aqua"_ or _"Xion"_." Sora replied, rubbing the back of his head uneasily, unaware that Larxene was glaring at them in annoyance for being ignored.

"Excuse me!" Larxene growled loudly and impatiently. "I'm right here?"

Quickly remembering that their newest enemy was behind them and they had pretty much ignored her, which they probably would've been better off, the trio turned back to her and returned to their defense stances after also remembering that the Organization now wanted to go after Elsa, which meant even more trouble.

"Why are you after Elsa?" Sora demanded. Solitude or not, he wasn't going to let anything happen to Elsa, whether she wanted to be alone or not.

"No one's gonna hurt her." Larxene responded, adding as she smiled cruelly. "But we're not about to put up with your meddling. Stay here and behave yourselves."

Without waiting for a further response, she held out her hand as an orb of electricity formed. Larxene focused on her powers as under her command the ice wall then broke apart and then leviated in the air above Sora's group who looked up in shock. Then, they began to fall and surround them, creating a massive wall that began to form and trap them.

"Wait. The ice!" Sora exclaimed.

"It's going to wall us in!" Goofy cried out in horror, and Donald let out a terrified scream.

Larxene just smirked. "Ice is so not my style."

Sora glared at the cruel woman and raced up to try and stop her, exclaiming her name in an attempt to reach her. But it was too late as another ice boulder blocked his path and soon he and his friends became trapped within the ice which soon vanished and turned into an interdimensional orb. Larxene grinned and giggled evilly when she stopped using her power.

"That oughta keep them busy for a while. Now, onto keeping those other two losers and Elsa's baby sister from reaching her." Larxene muttered to herself before teleporting away, onward to her next task.

Unaware that Aqua, having teleported to this world herself, was watching from a high cliff above with a deep frown. She had seen what has happened and her expression turned to anger, both at what she just heard and for what was done to Sora's group.

"**I have to find Queen Elsa's sister...and teach her the lesson of solitude. Mickey also must understand this...as do Sora, Riku and those two.**" She said to herself before walking away, down the path for her own destination.

It seems things in Arendalle was only about to get worse, for both Sora's group, Riku's group and for Elsa.

* * *

**A/N: Oh boy. Things are not looking good right now for any of our heroes! Will Sora, Donald and Goofy find a way out? Will Riku, Mickey and Anna join them and find Elsa before Larxene does? Only way to find out is to wait for the next chapter.**

**See you then!**


	30. Chapter 29: Labyrinth and Wolves

**Author's note: Sad news. Russi Taylor, voice actress of Minnie Mouse, Huey, Dewey and Louie and having married to previous Mickey Mouse voice actor Wayne Allwine until ten years ago, has passed away this month on the 26th, aged 75, which I just found out today.**

**Still, after ten years of the loss of Allwine, the two beloved actors are now together again in the Afterlife and always will be.**

**Oh, and I also forgot to mention that the English voice actor Rutger Hauer who voiced Master Xehanort in KH3(due to the late Leonard Nimory's passing in 2015) has also passed away, also 75 years old, this month as well. Both great actors now gone. So to honor them, I posted this chapter.**

**May both rest in peace.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 29: Labyrinth and Wolves.

Unaware of what happened further up, Riku, Mickey and Anna were desperately trying to find Anna in the direction where the latter thought her older sister Elsa had taken off to. But as it was already dark and despite the beautiful aurora lighting up the sky, the snow was thick and it was bitterly cold. On top of that, they were already finding themselves lost and it didn't help that not only with the Heartless around, but the trio weren't exactly wearing clothes fit for the sudden Winter.

"Elsa! Elsa, it's me! Anna! I-I'm s-s-sorry f-for mak-making you f-freeze Summer into w-winter!" Anna called out, hoping that the Queen would hear her. So far, she had no response, and she was shivering violently due to wearing a summer dress.

"I don't think she'll be able to hear you in this weather." Riku stated, adding as he looked around. "She could already be far up ahead. We'll just have to keep looking."

"I guess. It-It's all my f-f-f-fault." Anna sighed while shivering, before quickly grumbling as she also remembered how this started. "Of course, none of this would have happened if she told me her secret. She's a stinker."

Hearing this only made Mickey flinch, not due to the cold, but a reminder of how he too kept secret about Aqua's whereabouts and that he'd been forbidden by Master Yen Sid to tell Riku and everyone else about what happened in the Realm of Darkness. It had made him feel awful, and that guilt increase when Riku had lashed out on him, and the King knew, he had deserved it. But at the same time, he understood his mentor's reasons; if Mickey had told everyone sooner, Sora or Riku would have taken the futile risk in going into the Realm of Darkness to save her.

Which in the end wouldn't have made a difference, because Mickey knew that, whether he had told them or not, Aqua still would've been corrupted in darkness, all because he hadn't found her on time or been able to save her like he should've.

"That's not true." Mickey spoke up after a moment, making the other two look at him as he continued. "I think the reason why she didn't tell anybody was because she was scared of hurtin' you and didn't want to take a risk. It wasn't easy for her, because she couldn't think of a way of what to do."

"You said it yourself, Anna." Riku added, as he agreed with the King's theory. "From what we've seen, Elsa has no control over her powers, because she's scared of it and she didn't want to hurt you."

Anna's eyes widened as the words quickly began to sink in. Had Elsa really kept it secret, because she wanted to prevent herself from hurting Anna? Was that why all the years of isolation and not seeing each other until the royal ball earlier today, beause Elsa really was scared of her powers? Could that be part of the problem even before their parents died at sea?

She thought back of how Elsa wouldn't approach her before she met Prince Hans.

* * *

Flash-Back:

_It was during the ball when Anna had just finished her dance with the Duke of Weselton, in a rather odd way, and a bit painful too. She slightly limped her way towards her sister who had cheekily let the man dance with her after having denied it due to not being able to dance._

_"Well, he was sprightly." Elsa commented teasingly._

_"Especially for a man in heels!" Anna agreed, wincing a bit as she started to reshape herself._

_"Are you okay?" The newly crowned Queen asked, with some concern._

_The Princess smiled brightly. "I've never been better. This is so nice! I wish it could be like this all the time."_

_"Me too..." Elsa nodded, only to catch herself when she held a slightly off-put expression, as though she was thinking of something and looked away. "But it can't."_

_"Why not? I mean, if we..." Anna began, and made the attempt to hug her sister, but was disappointed when Elsa backed up a bit._

_"It just can't, okay?" Elsa said, uneasily but trying to hold it back._

_Anna looked at her, unable to believe that even tonight, Elsa still refused to be close to her, even just for a hug._

* * *

End Flash-Back:

'_I guess that explains it. She was scared she might end up accidentally freezing me and I'd freak out. Oh, Elsa. If only I understood a lot sooner._' Anna thought to herself in her mind, now having managed to put the pieces of the puzzle together in her mind. If anything, now that they were older and she understood, Anna wanted nothing more than to help her sister sort this magic thing out. Maybe they could figure this out together if Elsa didn't panic.

"Well then, I guess we'll have to figure out how to help her." She finally said, with renewed determination. "I don't know how yet, but I'm not giving up on Elsa. She's my sister, and icy magic or not, that doesn't change how much I care about her."

Riku blinked in surprise while Mickey, thinking about his own determination to find Aqua and restore her to normal, nodded in agreement. For Riku, he thought of how much Anna suddenly reminded him of Sora. How he himself had tried to avoid his younger friend and Kairi due to his appearance as 'Ansem' at the time after he forced himself to give into the darkness in order to take Roxas to DiZ and restore Sora. Except that Kairi had seen him within the body, and had Sora, who'd been confused at first and not recognizing him, broke down into tears of relief.

How he had wanted to know why he wasn't told that Riku was fine. Not to mention that Sora still saw him as his best friend since he'd been looking for him.

_"You're still Riku, no matter what."_

Sora's words echoed in his memories, and that he nodded to himself. If Sora was able to return to normal from a Heartless due to Kairi's Princess of Heart powers, and Riku himself was restored, then there was still a chance to save both Aqua and Terra and restore them to normal. Plus also to help Elsa to control her magic.

"Then let's go find her." Riku declared, and both young royals nodded in agreement. With that goal renewed, the trio continued on towards the path where they hoped to find Elsa and help her solve the problem with her icy magic.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sora, Donald and Goofy found themselves in a huge icy Labyrinth made of ice and a few tree roots. While the Keyblade Wielder looked around in shock at how Larxene, with a power of electricity, had managed to make this and trap them, Donald and Goofy both tried to push the walls but were unable to do so. It was too thick for them for Donald to even use his Fire Magic.

"Anybody see a way out?" Donald asked, hopefully.

"Nope, not me." Goofy glumly replied, giving up.

"Well, we can't stay in here." Sora pointed out as he turned to his friends who approached him.

Goofy nodded in agreement. "Elsa's in real trouble now."

"Yeah. Larxene promised not to hurt her. But I trust those guys as far as I can throw 'em." The teenage Wielder said. After what happened with Rapunzel, Sora didn't want a repeat of Marluxia's attempts to keep her imprisoned and knowing the Organization, even though he had no idea why Elsa is involved into this now, Larxene attempted to do the same thing with the Queen, or maybe even use her because of her power over ice. He wasn't about to let that happen.

"They're gotta be up to no good!" Donald growled, angry over this fact.

"Clearly." Sora nodded. "Let's find a way out."

"Yeah, we'll freeze if we don't." Goofy shuddered, rubbing his arms as he looked around as he already was starting to feel cold. Being outside in the mountains was one thing, but be trapped in an icy place like this without an exit was another.

With that in mind, the three of them looked around and discovered two passage ways, one to their left and another ahead of them. They took a quick look at the left pathway and found that it was a dead end, so they opted for the one ahead of them, running up the path that lead to another level. As they did, they ended up having to face more Heartless that appeared, but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle. They entered one room and found another corridor to their right, but first had to fight more Heartless.

Next after that, the trio entered several passages, one leading up to a staircase on their right, another in front of them which lead to yet another dead end, and one on their left seemed to be blocked by a door. Sora tried unlocking it with his Keyblade, but since it had no keyhole, it was no use. So the trio opted to go up the stairs and try their luck there. When they arrived, they noticed a large ice pillar that resembled to a white bare tree, only without branches.

"There's something funny about that pillar." Sora spoke up, approaching it to get a closer look despite being cautious about it. He didn't want a repeat of how he falsely claimed the scythe Nobody was safe. Donald and Goofy gulped worriedly, hoping that it wasn't dangerous.

As he carefully touched it, Sora waited, and waited, and waited...Nothing happened. Sighing in relief and, seeing how it was smooth, thought of something. It was glowing and since this place was weird anyway, maybe if he did something with it, it might lead a way out since this room was also a dead end. Nodding to himself, Sora focused before he leaped up and glowed in blue, using his Motion Flow ability and spun around and around the pillar which glowed a bit brighter.

Just as he stopped and returned to the ground, the entire room shook, much to his, Donald and Goofy's alarm as they looked around. Just then, they heard a thunderous sliding sound coming from the direction that they came from. Sharing a glance, the trio peered through the doorway and saw that the door that was locked had slid open, revealing another pathway which lead downward.

"Hey, look! We can get through now!" Goofy cried out in relief.

"Whoa. Didn't see that coming." Sora blinked, impressed.

"Uh...I think we should get going right now...!" Donald suddenly said, nervously after he turned back to look at the pillar, only to notice something else that was going to give them more problems.

When Sora and Goofy looked to see what made their friend nervous, their eyes widened in horror as the pillar sank down into the ground, and above them on the ceiling, sharp icicles appeared, with several spikes which also had electricity form up and threatening to fall and attack them, and even above their heads.

"RUN!" Sora shouted as he turned to run back down the stairs, with Donald and Goofy not even a second behind him. The trio screamed as they ran while the icicles soon fell and made to try and kill them, right at their heels as each one fell from the ceiling and more forming above them as they continued running towards the doorway in front of them.

Only to slip on the deep and slippery slope that none of them even noticed and ended up falling while sliding down uncontrollably, screaming down the unexpected ride. Sora was sliding on his back and even though it was protected by his shirt and jacket, his arms weren't and it was still freezing.

"Ack! Cold! Cold! Cold! Cold! Cold! _Cold!_" Sora yelped at the freezing ice underneath him. He really wished he had warmer clothing right about now.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Waaak!" Donald screamed as ended up on his butt while spinning around and around in circles as he slid down at the same time, and screamed louder when a smaller ice pillar was right in his direction. He smashed right through it, causing it to shatter into pieces and one of the broken pieces hit him in the face.

"Ouch!" He grunted, rubbing his face before resuming his screaming.

Goofy was also on his back, but his shirt rolled up a bit which allowed some of the ice that was shredded as he slid slide through his clothing and got onto his body, causing him to yelp and shiver at the coldness.

"Yaaa-hoo-hooee!" Goofy yelped, his expression being comical and Sora and Donald would've laughed if the situation was different. "That's really cold!"

Even though they eventually reached the bottom, the continued to slide out of control and ended up sliding into three different pathways and separated, much to Sora's dismay as he cried out to his friends, but knew in that instant he would have to find them later once this ride stopped. Though it didn't seem to end now, because when Sora tried to sit up, his eyes widened in panic as he saw an icy rail ahead of him that was high above an abyss and not straight.

"Uh oh!" Sora yelped, and despite the ice underneath him being slippery and the railing getting closer, he took his chances and flipped upward. He successfully landed back on his feet despite almost losing his balance but managed to righten himself and quickly used his Motion Flow to glide onto the railing like he did in the Sleeping Worlds, sliding his way with almost ease.

It was too bad more flying Heartless appeared beside him and made the attempts to knock him off. But Sora, in annoyance, summoned his Keyblade and shot out magic from the weapon after careful aiming, sucessfully getting rid of the Heartless as he went as well as more sharp icicles that began to fall from the ceiling. Sliding around the corner, Sora safely reached the other side and back onto the solid ground, but still ended up sliding down another deep slope while taking out both Heartless and slender-electrical formed Nobodies that he correctly guessed belonged to Larxene, along the way.

* * *

Meanwhile, Donald managed to stop spinning, but was still sliding through the tunnel he was in, which had twists and turns, sliding up and down while landing hard when he slid up ramp by ramp each time and was getting really annoyed and even more terrified as this went on.

"Stop this ride! I wanna get off!" He screamed loudly, only to have his eyes bulge out in horror when he saw that he was heading towards a twisted slide that went upside-down and downward like a spiral. Donald screamed while bracing himself and was sliding up and down, up and down, and getting very dizzy in the process. This seemed to went on and on and despite trying to avoid the Heartless and more spikes that emerged, using his magic to blast them despite his current position.

Even though he eventually made it to the bottom and into another empty room, Donald ended up sliding right towards the wall and screamed. But rather than slamming into it and falling onto his back like he'd expected, he crashed right through it and into another room while leaving behind a newly created hole shaped just like him.

* * *

At the same time, Goofy was sliding down and even steeper slope, crying out in alarm while trying to call out to his friends. "Sora! Donald! Hey, fellas! Where are ya's?"

Unfortunately, as he looked down ahead of him, Goofy silently gasped in horror while his eyes bulged out, when he saw that he was heading towards more spikes and a very slippery staircase behind them. Screaming, Goofy quickly summoned his Shield and held it out in front of him while squeezing his eyes shut and bracing himself for impact. Fortunately the shield protected him from being impaled and he smashed right through the icicles that ended up in pieces before he quickly and very awkwardly placed his Shield on the ground and hopped onto it.

He then went sliding down the stairs which was very bumpy that made him feel even more dizzy and he would probably end up with a couple of bruises by the end of this. After what seemed like forever, Goofy finally made it to the bottom in the same room that Donald had been, only to end up crashing through the wall as well, and replacing the Donald-shaped hole with one that was shaped like the Captain of the Knights.

* * *

Finally, as Sora slid down another tunnel and nearly lost his balance along the way, while tossing his Keyblade at a Satyr Heartless that blocked his path and took it out by leaping over it's head after he retrieved his weapon, slashing at the head and finishing it off, he landed back on the slippery surface and ended up doing a funny dance while wobbling and trying to regain his balance once more. He spun backwards and continued sliding, right into the same room as his companions who, both dazed and sore, were about to emerge from the hole only to see Sora coming.

The duo screamed just one second before Sora crashed into them and through the wall, now having replaced the Goofy shape with a shape that looked just like the teenager. In the other room, the trio were left crippled and in an awkward pile on the ground, all groaning due to the rough ride.

"That wasn't a fun ride..." Sora groaned, as he laid on top of both Donald and Goofy, before slowly pushing himself up and stood, placing a hand on his head.

"Ayhuck...Slippery." Goofy groggily murmured, as he stood up, more dazed than the others, getting off of Donald who ended up underneath both of them as the poor duck was nearly flattened.

"This is exasperating." The magician grumbled, pushing himself up and dusted himself off.

Sora sighed, scratching the back of his head once the worst of the dizzy spells faded. "Blame Larxene. She's the one who trapped us in here in the first place."

As Goofy regained his senses, he noticed something in front of him and his friends and blinked in surprise and confusion. There floated an inter-dimensional orb that glittered like the galaxy. "Hey, look."

"This must be the exit." Sora said as he and Donald saw what Goofy was pointing at. At least he hoped it was the exit. The trio shared a glance and with an agreeable nod, they cautionly approached the orb and, after a slight hesitation, they stepped inside one by one, vanishing from the Labyrinth.

When they emerged moments later, to their relief it was indeed the exit, because the trio found themselves back to where they started before Larxene had trapped them. No sooner had Goofy emerged last, the orb vanished behind him and the others, which made their prison disappear all together. But Sora, Donald and Goofy didn't pay any attention to that, because their main focus now was to find Elsa.

"See her?" Sora asked.

"I think she mighta gone up in that direction." Goofy replied, pointing up the single path that lead up the mountain, which Donald nodded to confirm it, having remembered that.

"Okay. C'mon!" Sora told them, and quickly took the lead up the path towards the Mountain, with Donald and Goofy right behind them.

Though none of them knew that they were about to face more problems even having escaped the Labyrinth.

* * *

Meanwhile, Riku, Mickey and Anna were still trying to find Elsa, but ended up even more lost after looking for a few hours, shivering as they went as they ended up in the forest.

"Snow...It had to be snow." Anna complained. "She could've had tr-tr-tropical magic that covered fjords in white sand and-"

She cut herself off when she, Riku and Mickey noticed something in the distance. When they focused on it, they all realized that it was smoke.

"Fire!" Anna, Riku and Mickey joyfully exclaimed. Sharing a nod, the trio hurried into the direction of where the fire was coming from, and eventually found themselves standing outside of a lodge. They noticed that the sign was covered in snow which Riku tapped to shake some of it off.

"_"Wandering Oaken's Trading Post."_" Riku read aloud, only for more snow to fall off and revealing a smaller sign.

"Oh! _"And Sauna"_!" Anna added happily.

"Welp, looks like we can warm up a bit. Maybe the owner knows where Elsa is." Mickey said. His friends nodded in agreement, deciding that he had a point before the three of them stepped into the lodge while shivering and jumped slightly when the door slammed behind them. As they looked around, they were disappointed as all they noticed on the shelves were everything fit for summer, which made sense since this was summer even though Elsa accidentally turned it into winter.

They then heard a voice and saw a man at the counter, and they correctly guessed was the owner, Oaken. "Hoo-hoo! Big summer blowout! Half off swimming suits, clogs, and a sun balm of my own invention, ja?"

"Gee, that's really great, mister." Mickey said politely and a bit awkwardly, before asking. "Um, you wouldn't happen to have anything suited for winter, right?"

"Yes. Like um, about boots? Winter boots? A-And dresses?" Anna added.

"And jackets?" Riku added.

Oaken looked disappointed that these three costumers weren't looking to buy anything for summer, but still pointed to the side as he answered. "No jackets, I'm afraid, but the boots and dress vould be in our winter department."

Riku, Mickey and Anna glanced at the counter and saw that it was indeed virtually almost empty save for the one pair of winter boots and the winter dress. The Princess hurried over and picked up the said clothing while going around the corner for privacy to put them on, while the two Keyblade Wielders sighed in disappointment.

"What rotten luck. I guess we'll just hav'ta travel in the weather with what we got." Mickey sighed. He had been hoping to buy a warm jacket for the cold weather as even he didn't want to travel around in the freezing temperature.

'_It's a good thing Sora isn't here. Otherwise he'd be complaining about this as much as us._' Riku thought to himself, unable to help but smirk at how his best friend would react if the younger teen was here. Sora can be a bit of a drama queen, sometimes. Still, he couldn't deny that he'd been looking forward in getting warmer clothing himself, but it was like Mickey said. They would just have to cope.

When Anna finished dressing in the winter gear, she approached Oaken and inquried while she is about to pay for her new clothes. "Um, I was just wondering, has another young woman-the Queen perhaps, I don't know-passed through here?"

"Only one crazy enough to be out in this storm is you and your friends, dear." Oaken shook his head, only for the door to open once more, and when everyone looked to see who it was, their eyes widened as they saw...well, Riku's group weren't certain what they were seeing. It was the figure of a man, with short blond hair, and brown winter outfit. Though he was covered in snow that made him a bit like an abominable snowman. The name's name was Kristoff.

"...You and this fellow?" Oaken added, before he held up his sunbalm. "Big summer blowout!"

Kristoff walked up to the group who tensed, before he muttered, even though his mouth was covered by his scarf. "Carrots."

"Huh?" Riku, Mickey and Anna muttered in confusion.

"Behind you." He added, pointing at the bag full of the said vegatables behind them. Realizing what Kristoff meant, the trio excused themselves while he collected them as well as other winter supplies and then placed them onto the counter.

"Oooh, a real howler in July, yes? Vherever could it be coming from?" Oaken commented.

"North Mountain." Kristoff responded, which instantly made Anna's eyes widen, as did Mickey and Riku's. The weather was coming from the North Mountains? The trio shared a glance as realization dawned onto them. This must be Elsa's ice powers still going out of control and that meant the mountain itself was where the Queen was right now.

"Say, mister." Mickey spoke up as he and his friends approached Kristoff who turned to look at them with a slightly impatient look. "Did the North Mountain have something unusual there too? Like magic of sorts?"

"Yes." Kristoff replied.

"I knew it." Anna murmured. It had to be Elsa, as her powers was the only thing that was magical that made perfect sense.

"So it is Elsa." Riku whispered, coming to the same conclusion, while Kristoff went back to pay for the supplies.

"That'll be forty." Oaken said, much to the surprise of the others.

"Forty?" Kristoff repeated in disbelief. "No, ten."

"Oh, dear, that's no good! See, zis is from our vinter stock, vhere the supply and demand have a big problem?"

"You want to talk about a _"supply and demand"_ problem? I sell ice for a living!" Kristoff argued. This earned him dumbfounded expressions from Riku and Mickey who shared a confused glance, the latter shrugging cluelessly. When they and Anna looked out of the door way, they saw a brown reindeer named Sven who had a harness attached to a sleigh that carried large ice blocks.

"Ten's all I've got. Help me out!" Kristoff added.

"Okay." Oaken said, rearranging the carrots by having them in front of the other supplies and told the younger man. "Ten will get you this, and no more."

Anna, Riku and Mickey shared another glance and, while they didn't want to simply ask this man to put himself at risk or danger, they had to get to Elsa and fast and even though it was still a risk in going out at night, Anna was stubborn and she was determined to find her sister and the two Keyblade Masters knew that arguing with her was a losing battle. Plus, they needed all the help they could get right about now, and that Aqua or the Organization could attack in the dark if they didn't have a ride, or a guide.

"Um, excuse me." Anna spoke up. "We need to go the North Mountain, and I was wondering, if you can take us there."

"What?" Kristoff asked, bewildered as he gazed at the trio. They wanted him to take them to the Mountain? "Whoa, wait a second! I don't take people to places."

"Let me rephrase that. We need to go to the North Mountain, and we need you to take us there. Please. I can help you buy the supplies." The Princess responded.

When Kristoff stared at her skeptically, Anna continued. "Look, I know how to stop this winter."

"And we have no idea how to get there, but we do know that we can't let our friend go alone." Riku added, and Mickey nodded in agreement.

The more Kristoff gazed at the weird group of a crazy girl, a teenage young man and a mouse, the more he realized that he wasn't getting out of it, and given that Oaken looked a bit surprised by the generous offer Anna was giving, not to mention that ten wasn't going to get everything he needed, he sighed in defeat.

"Okay, fine then. I'll pay for the carrots and take you guys to the mountain." Kristoff finally responded.

Anna, Riku and Mickey all smiled in relief. So after they paid for both Anna's winter gear and some of the supplies Kristoff needed while he paid for the Carrots with the Ten that he had, the four of them thanked Oaken who thanked them in return and left the lodge before boarding the sled and soon began to make their way up towards the Mountain as they introduced themselves. Riku and Mickey both sat in the back of the sled while Anna sat next to Kristoff while Sven carried them in high speed.

Despite the speed they were going up the narrow cliff and through the forest, the trio couldn't help but enjoy themselves.

"Hang on! We like to go fast!" Kristoff advised, even though he tried to scare them, but found that Anna, Riku and Mickey were fearless. In fact, they looked like they were having a blast.

"I like fast!" Anna exclaimed happily.

"So do we!" Riku and Mickey both said, even though they held on, but they couldn't help themselves.

Deciding to change the subject, Kristoff then asked Anna curiously about Elsa. "So, uh tell me. What made the Queen go all ice-crazy?"

"Oh, well, it was all my fault." Anna began to explain. "I got engaged, but then she freaked out because I'd only just met him, you know, that day, and she said she wouldn't bless the marriage and-"

"What!?" Riku and Mickey both exclaimed in shock. Anna left that part out and the two shared an incredulous glance. That sort of explained the argument.

"Wait. You got engaged to someone you just met that day?" Kristoff asked, just as shocked.

"Yeah. Anyway, I got mad ,and so she got mad and then she tried to walk away and I grabbed her glove-" Anna continued, but was once again interrupted.

"Hang on!" Kristoff exclaimed. "You mean to tell me you got _engaged_ to someone you just met _that day_!?"

Anna groaned, annoyed by the fact that she'd been continuously interrupted. "Yes, pay attention! But the thing is, she wore the gloves all the time, so I just thought, _"Maybe she has a thing about dirt!"_"

'_Well, it's no wonder Elsa lost her temper. I can really understand that._' Riku thought to himself, as he and Mickey were both beginning to think that there was more to Hans than they thought. They didn't like how the Prince looked in his eyes, and given that he asked Anna to marry him despite having just first met, that was very suspicious. Maybe they were being paranoid, but perhaps Hans is the true reason why the Heartless were around.

"Didn't your parents ever warn you about strangers?" Kristoff pointed out.

A bit of an awkward pause.

"Yes, they did." Anna admitted, scooting slightly in her seat, edging away from Hans while both Riku and Mickey shared a concerned expression once more. "But Hans is _not_ a stranger!"

"You know, Anna. I can see why Elsa wouldn't want ya to get married to somebody you just met. You don't really know Hans that well." Mickey carefully pointed out, not wanting to hurt the Princess's feelings. He should know, because when he began to date Minnie after saving her countless times as a Musketeer undercover, she'd told him how she didn't like the royal arrange marriages and that she'd like to know her true love who would make her smile and laugh and love her for who she is as a person, not as a Princess.

When he admitted who he really was and had expected their relationship to be called off, Mickey had been surprised that she had actually came from the same world that he had but was raised to be a Princess in the world she grew up in and that both worlds were connected to the Cornerstone, and had actually told him that she still loved him no matter what. So, against regulations even though both worlds were mysteriously close to merging anyway, Mickey had the help of both the Cornerstone and Master Yen Sid to merge both worlds into one, before he eventually asked Minnie to marry him, which she happily accepted.

That's why Disney Town was full of colour now because of that said merge. But that was a secret that Mickey and everyone else had promised to never reveal except those who were Keyblade Wielders, though Mickey had been careful about that part too.(1)

These thoughts made him think about his beloved wife and felt guilty for having left her for his current quest right about now. '_Gosh, I really owe Minnie countless of dates and apologies by now. Maybe I should take her out to the Fireworks Festival for her birthday this year after this is all over. She always wanted to see that._' He thought to himself, before mentally shaking his head to focus on the current situation.

"He's right. No offence, but I don't trust Prince Hans. But that's just me." Riku added, just as careful.

"Oh, come on. Why would Hans do anything harmful?" Anna scoffed. "Besides, it's true love."

"Doesn't sound like true love." Kristoff stated, mentally agreeing with both Riku and Mickey.

"Are any of you three love experts?" Anna asked, skeptically.

"Well..." Mickey replied, reluctantly. "I happen to be married to Minnie. We dated for a long time before I even proposed to her."

"And I have friends who are love experts." Kristoff added.

"_You_ have friends who are love experts?" Anna repeated, and when Kristoff nodded, she rolled her eyes. "I'm not buying it."

Just then, Sven came a stop and looked around, his ears perked up before he quickly held a worried expression. Kristoff knew what this meant, and as both Riku and Mickey saw this, they glanced around in high alert, trying to see and/or sense any sense of danger, while Kristoff whispered to the group, "Stop talking."

"No, no, no, no, no! I'd like to meet these-" Anna began, only for Kristoff to cover her mouth.

"Shhh! I mean it." Kristoff whispered, before removing his hand and stood up as he, Riku and Mickey who both did the same scanned the area, the former holding up his lantern to see who or what was spying on them. As he looked behind them, his eyes widened as the light from the lantern reflected several hungry eyes, belonging to a pack of wolves who bared their teeth.

Mickey spotted them, because he softly exclaimed. "Uh-oh! Wolves!"

Kristoff quickly returned to his seat while lighting a torch while yelling out to his reindeer. "Sven, go! Go!"

The reindeer immediately took off running, carrying it's passengers as they went, darting further up up the path and woods, with the wolves quickly giving chase. When Mickey and Riku both looked back, their eyes widened as along with the wolves, Heartless began to appear as well, from large wolf-faced flying ones to the reindeer Heartless, wanting nothing more than to steal their, Anna and Kristoff's hearts.

"Not the Heartless!" Riku grunted. Why did the Heartless have to appear now when they already had problems at the risk of getting eaten by the wolves?

"What do we do?!" Anna cried out as she heard the Heartless part.

"I got this! Just... don't fall off and don't get eatenǃ" Kristoff told them, kicking away one wolf that got too close for his taste.

"Kristoff, keep driving! We'll handle the Heartless!" Riku advised, quickly summoning his Braveheart Keyblade, while Mickey summoned the Kingdom Key W and knocked away a Soldier Heartless that jumped and leaped, but was destroyed instantly when the King made contact with it.

"But I wanna help!" Anna exclaimed.

"No!" Kristoff stated firmly.

"Why not?"

"Them, I trust in handling those..."Heart-less" things. But I don't trust judgement."

The young woman looked offended by this as she glared angrily at Kristoff. "Excuse me!?"

"Who marries a man she just met?" Kristoff replied, kicking away another wolf while Riku slashed away a reindeer Heartless that jumped high to attack but it never got the chance.

"It's true love!" Anna shouted as she grabbed hold a lute.

"This is no time to fight! We gotta stop the wolves and the Heartless!" Mickey exclaimed, chanting Pearl at one of the flying Heartless that almost engulfed him before being destroyed by the power of his light. He then bashed away a pottery Heartless that got too close before he cast a Thunderaga to scare off the Wolves despite that the pack were relentless, determined to have the group as a late night snack.

Riku cast a Dark Thunderaga at another Heartless, before his eyes widened in shock as he and Mickey both saw not only more Heartless appearing, but also Lightning-Element Nobodies that were also giving chase towards them as well. Realizing that it meant that a member of Organization XIII was here as well, the two of them quickly fought them off as well, as he knocked back two Nobodies before and Mickey used reflect to shield themselves, Anna, Kristoff and Sven from a laser beam done by another Heartless.

It still made the sled bump a bit and nearly knocked everyone over, but it didn't cause any major damage. Riku and Mickey then gently touched their Keyblades together and formed a combined teamed power of light that shot out a slightly larger Orb of Light which knocked back several Heartless and Nobodies who crashed into the other monsters and destoryed almost instantly. Still, they had the wolves to worry about even as the Heartless and Nobodies were mostly taken care of.

"Whoa!" Kristoff cried out as a Nobody jumped and was about to attack him. To his shock, Anna swung the lute like a club and smacked the monster away where it hit a tree and somehow vanished instantly.

"Whoa..." He murmured, admittedly impressed. Unfortunately, that distracted him enough to be yanked from the sled by another wolf, causing to cry out. "WHOA!"

Kristoff was pulled to behind the sled and as Riku and Mickey were shocked and alarmed of how it managed to do that, the former accidentally bumped into Riku who didn't have time to move out of the way and was falling off the sled himself as he cried out in alarm.

"Riku! Kristoff!" Mickey screamed out, and while Kristoff managed to grab hold a rope and was now being dragged behind the sled, Riku wasn't as lucky. Fortunately the King quickly reached out and grabbed hold of his friend's left hand, though both of them were forced to dismiss their Keyblades as Riku held onto the sled with his other hand and Mickey held on with both of his hands, even though he was struggling to not fall off himself due to the bumpy ride and his size.

"Christopher! Riku!" Anna shouted in alarm, while getting his name wrong.

"It's Kristoff!" Kristoff corrected while he hung on for dear life, before screaming as did Riku when two wolves landed on their backs, preparing to dig their sharp claws and teeth into them for the kill, much to Mickey and Anna's horror.

Thinking quickly, Anna grabbed hold of the lantern and smashed it onto a bedroll, setting it on fire. Yelling at the trio to duck, she tossed the flaming blanket off the sled and knocked over the two wolves off Riku and Kristoff's backs. Mickey wasted no time in pulling Riku back onboard while the latter pulled himself up at the same time, as did Kristoff.

"Thanks, guys!" Riku said to his companion who laughed weakly in relief, and to the Princess who nodded with a smile.

Kristoff on the other hand, was shell-shocked as he exclaimed. "You almost set me on fire!"

"But I didn't." Anna responded, deciding to worry about the critism later and instand grabbed hold of the man's hand and pulled him back up onto the sled.

Unfortunately as the four of them looked up ahead while Sven cried out in alarm, their eyes widened in horror when they saw they were heading towards a large cliff up ahead, and if they didn't stop or jump straight away, they would certainly be falling to their deaths.

"Get ready to jump, Sven!" Anna exclaimed, knowing there was only one thing to do.

"You don't tell him what to do!" Kristoff yelled, as he shoved a satchel into Anna's arms before scooping her up and throwing her onto the reindeer, while Riku and Mickey, both hesitant at this idea, gulped nervously before the teenager held the King in his arms and jumped, landing behind the Princess and onto the reindeer while Kristoff cut the cutting loose from the sled. "I do! Jump, Sven!"

Despite being worried for Kristoff, Riku, Mickey and Anna held on tight while the reindeer successfully clears the chasm, landing on the other side with his passengers, Kristoff ended up having to jump off the sled as it began to fall into the gorge even though it was close to landing on the other side as well. He grabbed hold of the edge of the cliff and looked down to see, much to his dismay, the sled crashed below into the chasm and burst into flames.

"No! But I just paid it off!" Kristoff cried out, before beginning to lose his grip. Fortunately, as he began to panic, Anna, Riku and Mickey hurried over and grabbed hold of his arms, heaving and pulling him onto the more solid ground and to safety.

"Well, there goes our ride." Riku sighed, before asking the group. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yep." Mickey answered, while Anna nodded, and Kristoff and even Sven nodded, distractedly. The King then sighed, "But I guess we'll have to walk the rest of the way.

"Yeah." Anna nodded, feeling guilty for what happened to Kristoff's sled, and then said to the disheartened man. "I'll replace your sled, and-and everything in it. And I understand if you don't want to help me anymore."

She then turned and began to walk away, while Riku and Mickey gazed sadly at Kristoff who seemed to be having a conversation with Sven, pretending that the reindeer was talking to him as well, even though his expression said it all.

"And I take you both don't want to help me anymore, either." Anna continued to the two Keyblade Wielders who looked at her in shock.

"Of course we do. Why wouldn't we?" Riku replied.

"He's right. To tell the truth, we're actually lookin' for a friend of mine who, well...I guess we both had a big fight ourselves for a different reason. But we both still wanna help you find your sister." Mickey added.

"Really? Then I guess I should help you find your friend too, Mickey, since you and Riku are helping me to find Elsa." Anna stated.

As the trio were talking, Kristoff was still having his conversation with Sven. "Ugh. Of course I don't want to help her anymore! In fact, this whole thing has ruined me for helping anyone ever again!"

He then pretended that Sven was talking to him, "_She'll die on her own, and those two don't know where they're going._"

"I can live with that." Kristoff 'replied'.

"_But you won't get your new sled if she's dead._" 'Sven pointed out', even as the reindeer held the look that made Kristoff really think that he had a good point.

Knowing that he's right, and that even though Riku and Mickey were capable of fighting and protecting Anna, they were new around here and that they would all get lost. Sighing, Kristoff muttered to Sven jokingly with a soft smile, "Sometimes I really don't like you." This earned him a relived lick from his friend.

He then called out to the group who turned as he declared. "We're coming."

"You are!?" Anna asked excitedly, before quickly collecting herself and replied, more calmly. "I mean, sure! I'll let you tag along."

"Glad to have ya' with us, Kristoff." Mickey said with a smile.

"Great. Let's go find the Queen." Kristoff declared.

"Lead the way." Riku replied.

With their goal renewed despite their ride having been destroyed, the five of them continued onward into the forest up towards the mountain in hopes of finding Elsa, not yet knowing what else or who else they would be running into along the way.

* * *

High up from the cliff above them, a scowling Larxene hissed angrily to herself as she saw that the group she intended on stopping managed to stay alive and were still heading up towards Elsa. She then sighed and grumbled.

"I hate it when meddlers end up escaping." She grumbled, before noticing something at the corner of her eye and noticed further up ahead from where she was standing, were, to her dismay, were Sora, Donald and Goofy who were nearing the mountain's peek, and further on the other side in the forest, was a former blue-haired Keyblade Wielder who was fighting off Heartless and her Nobody minions.

Groaning, Larxene sighed. "Well, I guess I got my work cut out this week. Gotta make sure those brats don't end up seeing Elsa." With that, she teleported away once again.

To keep Sora's group from meeting up with Elsa.

* * *

**A/N: (1) Since I have no idea how the Timeless River really became Disney Castle and since Mickey, Donald and Goofy were in the Country of Musketeers before returning home while Minnie went with them and marrying Mickey as both became King and Queen, I made up this idea of the secret world merge and strong connections.**

**Still shocked and sad that Minnie's voice actress and even Xehanort's KH3 voice actor are gone, though. Both were still really young. Well, at least they're in a better place.**

**Anywho, I'll see you all later in the next chapter.**


	31. Chapter 30: A Frosty Meeting and Reunion

**Author's note: Sorry that this is a bit late. Been stuck on writer's block and I came very close in starting yet another story, but held it off and decided to return to Key to Return Hearts instead. As such, a new chapter is finally done as we continue the journey through out Arendalle!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 30: A Frosty Meeting and Reunion.

Not long after having escaped the Labyrinth Larxene created, Sora, Donald and Goofy hurried up on the path of canyon walls towards the mountain, fighting off more Heartless and Nobodies as they went. Though the cold weather didn't seem to help despite that they caught glimpses of bright lights in the sky which made it beautiful. So as they finally exited the canyon, Sora took that time to look up and then behind to back from where they came from.

"Whoa! Those lights sure look beautiful." Sora remarked at the Aurora display.

"That's called an Aurora." Donald explained.

"Aurora? You mean like Princess Aurora?" Sora asked, surprised as the name reminded him of one of the Princesses of Heart back in Hollow Bastion. He then wondered if the Princess was named after the lights in the sky.

"Uh...not quite the same." The magican said, a bit awkwardly.

"So, what does that mean?" The Keyblade Wielder queried.

"The Aurora in the sky lights up in snowy and icy places once an' awhile." Goofy explained. "They don't happen very often, though and sometimes we get to see them durin' winter back at the Castle. A-yhuck."

That amazed Sora even further. "Cool! Then that means we're kind of lucky to see it here, huh? I wish Riku, Kairi and everybody else could see it."

"We can see it after this, okay?" Donald suggested, and Goofy nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. You got it!" Sora nodded, then turned around and continued upward with his two friends close behind.

But as they continued onward, they noticed that a blizzard was picking up which not only made them shiver that even Donald and Goofy were really feeling the effects, but that there was yet another hill they had to climb up.

"More climbing?" Donald complained in dismay.

"Yep, and a tough climbing too." Goofy remarked, also dismayed.

"We can do it. C'mon!" Sora gestured, taking the lead.

However, the teenager underestimated the blizzard as the higher they went, the more stronger it seemed to get. Sora, Donald and Goofy struggled in walking through the thick snow and the freezing winds that continued to blow at them that they were quickly becoming very exhausted. They were halfway to the top when Goofy suddenly heard...singing.

"What?" Sora muttered, as he and Donald also began to hear it as well. The trio listened more closely and instantly they knew that the voice was familiar. "That's Elsa's voice!"

They listened more closely as high above them and unaware of their presence, Elsa was at the near very top as she was singing to herself, taking off her remaining glove and threw it away.

"This way!" Sora told his companions and they hurried onward as the blizzard finally stopped, though it still snowed but more gently this time. The trio stopped as they saw Elsa singing to herself and even take off her cape which blew gently into the winds and above the trio who watched it disappear into the sky.

Elsa in the meantime then magically created a snowman as she continued to sing. Having come this far, she had decided that she was better off here, making herself Queen of this new isolated kingdom. After years of holding back her powers as much as she could, and without anyone knowing and being the good girl that she had been, Elsa could not longer hold it back and that now everyone in the Kingdom knew.

Her saving grace, other than the mysterious young man and his two friends, Sora, Donald and Goofy, was that the blizzard had covered up her tracks so that no one would be able to find her here. She didn't care what anyone would say about her, or that the storm would rage on. Plus a cold never bothered her. She then created icy steps as she climbed up and at the full blast, a magnificent palace made out of ice towered over the mountain, much to the amazement of Sora, Donald and Goofy who watched on as Elsa's fear seemed to have disappeared.

Inside her new castle, free from her fear and anger, Elsa threw away her crown, let her hair loose into a shoulder-pony tail, and finally waved her hands down to her dress, transforming it's royal garment into that of an icy but beautiful silky light-blue dress that was very beautiful as she neared the end of her song. By then, the sun had risen to that of dawn and went over to her new balcony and into the light, overseeing the sight below her.

She was free. Free from everything that kept her mentally locked up. As she stopped singing, Elsa turned and closed the door shut behind her.

All the while Sora, Donald and Goofy had witnessed such amazing events as they reached the peak just outside of the castle that Elsa had just created. All made out of ice.

"Wow. I don't know what we just saw, but... Wow." Sora remarked, almost completely speechless. "That... was Elsa?"

"She looked different." Donald said.

"And a lot happier, too." Goofy added.

Even though Elsa did look a lot happier now, Sora still had no idea why the Queen looked so sad in the first place, and even now, despite that she seemed to be more at ease, something didn't sit right with him. Surely she really didn't want to spend to the rest of her live in a Ice Palace of Solitude mainly because of her magic. Maybe she would be willing to at least talk to them and then maybe they can figure out how this all started in the first place.

"Let's say hi." Sora finally decided after a moment of silence.

But as his friends nodded in agreement and reached the top of the mountain, they were forced to a stop when out of the darkness that appeared in front of them, was Larxene who was smirking cruelly at them.

"Please don't tell me that you're spying on her now." The blonde-haired woman snarked.

"Larxene!" Sora growled as he and his friends, recognizing the woman who trapped them in that freezing Labyrinth hours earlier, stood in defense stances. He then countered, "Don't turn this around on us. You're following her."

"Oooh. Look at you get all sassy." The female Nobody mocked, before chuckling and began to explain. "Okay. I'll admit Elsa is a person of interest to us. Maybe she's one of the seven pure lights we need-the New Seven Hearts. Gotta make sure, though. Fortunately, we're in the best position to tell. Can't pick out that _"Special glimmer."_."

She looked at the castle behind her while Sora's eyes widened in disbelief. So the Organization was not only after Rapunzel but now Elsa? That's why they were interested in her? He still didn't get the meaning of the New Seven Hearts thing which was first spoken of by Marluxia.

"...Unless you're standing in the shadows." Larxene continued. "And maybe...Elsa doesn't have it. I mean, just look at how icy her palace is-made of magic she forced herself to keep hidden until now. What if it's dark magic?"

"Elsa would never rely on darkness!" Sora shouted angrily. Despite that Elsa's powers seemed to be out of control and she seemed to be scared of it, even he could tell that it wasn't darkness and she was far too nice to be one using darkness.

Larxene turned back to him and stated. "Actually, it's still too early to call. Depends on how she sees it. If she believes her magic is darkness, that's what it will become. Accepting her power, whatever it is, is the only way she can set her heart free. So what will Elsa accept? Light or darkness? I know I wanna know!"

"Well, good for you, but guess what?" Sora declared. "I won't let her fall to darkness!"

"It's her choice, not yours." Larxene pointed out with a frown. "You know, I'm starting to understand why she gave you a cold shoulder."

Before Sora, Donald and Goofy could do anything or say anything else, Larxene held out her hand, sending out her powers of electricity which is combined with an icy blizzard once more. But unlike the last time, the trio was struggling to stand their ground as they felt the pressures of the gust of wind that was worse than a normal blizzard.

"Larxene!" Sora grunted, as both his friends quickly lost the fight and were sent flying backwards all the way down the mountain, screaming.

"You wanna help her?" The Organization member taunted. "Then stop trying to be her hero! Let her figure things out her way!"

Finally unable to hold back any longer, Sora was flown off the his feet and flown backwards down the mountain, screaming as he went.

Once she knew that the trio were out of the way, Larxene groaned in irritation as she eased down her abilities. "Ugh. I forgot how stupid that brat is. First Namine and now Elsa. What's next; a talking Snowman?"

After a moment of self-silence, she just shrugged. "Whatever. Just hope no one else would becoming coming after the girl here. Really gotta be sure whether she's one of the new seven or not." With that, she teleported away.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mickey, Riku, Anna, Kristoff and Sven continued on their journey to find Elsa and the Northern Mountain, with snow still on the ground. As they walked, below the hill before them, was the kingdom of Arendelle, which was completely frozen in ice, from the rooftops to the castle itself. To say that they were horrified would've been an understatement.

"Oh my gosh!" Mickey gasped in shock.

"Arendelle." Anna gasped, unable to believe that her and Elsa's Kingdom was completely covered in ice.

"It's completely frozen." Kristoff remarked in disbelief.

"It'll be fine. Elsa will thaw it." Anna said quietly.

Kristoff gave her a bit of an skeptical look. "Will she?"

"As long as she knows that Anna will always care about her, then she will. Right now, what she fears the most is her magic." Riku informed the group. The more he thought about how terrified Elsa looked, the more he was reminded of how he feared the darkness in his heart that was given to him, or rather he given into.

Come to think of it, as much as he attempted to deny it and face it, Riku couldn't help but think that Vexen, Lexaeus, the Riku Replica, and even the Fake Ansem were right. Riku had been afraid of the darkness and tried to face it the wrong way. Getting rid of powers was near on impossible once you gained them. But thanks to Namine, Mickey and Sora, Riku had come to accept both his light and his darkness.

"I hope so." Anna said, before nodding with determination. "Now come on. This way to the North Mountain?" She pointing to the left, only for Kristoff to point it in the correct direction of the huge mountain.

"More like this way." He informed her.

"Oh. I stand corrected." Anna remarked sheepishly.

Mickey and Riku couldn't help but chuckle before following their new friends towards the mountain now that the sun was up. As the two Keyblade Masters protected them from more Heartless along the way, they eventually found themselves in the frozen willows, with hanging branches looking like Christmas decorations and lights. Sven began to play with them with his antlers.

"Wow. It's beautiful." Mickey said, gazing around in awe as did his friends.

"It's like a winter wonderland or something." Riku said. "Don't get this sort of thing in the tropics."

"I never knew winter could be so beautiful." Anna agreement.

"Yeah, it really _is_ beautiful, isn't it?" A voice suddenly spoke behind them, and Sora and the others quickly turned to Sven, as though thinking that he spoke despite the reindeer didn't talk, except when Kristoff pretended that he could talk.

Mickey blinked as he and the others looked around, before the King called out. "Hello?"

"But it's so white. How about a little color? I'm thinking, like, maybe some crimson, chartreuse..." The voice continued, as behind them a walking and talking snowman approached, without a nose and was named Olaf. "...How 'bout yellow? No, not yellow. Yellow and snow? Brrr! No go."

"Who's there?" Riku demanded, only for him to gasp sharply as the Snowman walked between Anna and Kristoff who, along with both Riku and Mickey, held looks of absolute shock on their expressions of the sight of the walking and talking snowman.

"Am I right?" Olaf continued.

"AAAAHHHH!" Mickey and Anna screamed, and while the latter leaped into Riku's arms in terror, Anna used a quick reflex and kicked the snowman's head, sending if off his body and flew right into Kristoff's hands.

"Hi." Olaf greeted.

"You're creepy!" Kristoff exclaimed, tossing it to Anna who shrieked.

"I don't want it!" The Princess screamed, tossing it back to Kristoff.

"Back to you!" Kristoff cringed, tossing back to her and it quickly turned into a game of hot potato...or rather, a game of cold snowman head, while Riku and Mickey looked back and forth between this crazy event, bewildered.

"Whoa!" Olaf exclaimed, before crying out pleadingly. "Please, don't, drop, me!"

While this was going on, Olaf's headless body began running around, waving it's arms madly which made Riku yelp and run out of the way with Mickey still hanging onto him, both having freaked out expressions as Olaf's head landed back into Anna's arms and the body went up towards her.

"This has to be the creepiest day of my life." Riku remarked.

"All right, we got off to a bad start." The snowman muttered, sheepishly.

"Ew, ew! The body!" Anna cringed as she quickly threw the head back onto the body. At first Olaf smiled, before realizing that his head was upside down. Well, he didn't seem to see it yet, but everyone else did while Mickey hopped off Riku and landed onto the ground.

"Wait, what am I looking at right now? Why are you hanging off the earth like a bat?"

Anna, seeing this quickly felt sympathy for the snowman and her fear oddly dimming. "...All right, wait one second." She then took off Olaf's head and repositioned it the correct way up.

"Ooh! Thank you!" The Snowman smiled happily.

"You're welcome." The Princess smiled back.

"Now I'm perfect." Olaf remarked, looking at himself.

Anna though felt that something was missing, and then realized that the snowman's innocent face had no nose and that's when an idea hit her. "Well, almost."

She then takes a carrot from the bag supply and her way back to the snowman, trying to place it on the snowman's face tail first. It goes all the way through, save for the tip. She cringed, apologetically saying, "Oh! I'm sorry!"

"Whoo! Head rush!" Olaf exclaimed.

"Are you okay?" Anna asked, worriedly, while Kristoff and Riku shared a glance and Mickey blinked.

"Are you kidding me? I am wonderful! I've always wanted a nose." The snowman said, happily, touching the tip of the carrot. "It's so cute. It's like a little baby unicorn."

As though seeing it still wasn't quite right, Anna reached behind Olaf to the bulk of the carrot that was sticking out at the back of his head and pushed it forward. Seeing that he now had a bigger nose, Olaf cried out excitedly. "Hey, whoa! Oh, I love it even moreǃ"

"Never seen anything this weird before." Riku whispered.

"Oh. I have." Mickey admitted.

"All right, let's start this thing over:" The snowman said, before introducing himself with a bright smile, "Hi, everyone. I'm Olaf. And I like warm hugs."

While everyone was at ease now that they saw that Olaf was actually friendly despite being a living Snowman, seeing this and hearing his name triggered a memory in Anna's mind. Her eyes widened as she realized that Elsa must've recreated a snowman they both made when they were both very young and that her magic not only turned summer into winter, but also brought Olaf to life.

"That's right...Olaf!"

"And you are...?" Olaf said to Anna.

"Oh!... I'm Anna." The Princess answered.

Olaf nodded, before gazing at Kristoff, asking, "And who's the funky-looking donkey over there?"

"That's Sven." Anna answered, thinking that Olaf was talking about the reindeer.

To her and everyone else's surprise, Olaf then looked over to the real Sven and asked, "Uh-huh...And who's the reindeer?"

"Uh...Sven?" Anna replied, confused.

"Oh, they're bo- Oh! Okay. Makes things easier for me." Olaf said as he looked back and forth between Kristoff and Sven. The snowman then noticed Riku and exclaimed in surprise. "Hey, your hair is almost as white as snow itself, but you're wearing black and purple! What's your name?"

"Riku." The teenager answered simply.

"And who's the mouse with the big ears?" The snowman turned to the King.

"I'm Mickey." Mickey replied.

"Nice to meet you." Olaf greeted happily.

"Olaf, did Elsa build you?" Anna asked Olaf.

"Yeah, why?" Olaf replied.

"Do you know where she is?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah, why?" Olaf repeated.

"Well, see, we're trying to find Elsa to put a stop to this winter and bring back summer, and, if it's not too much trouble, we would like you to take us to her." Riku explained.

"Summer?" Olaf asked, astounded. "Oh, I don't know why, but I've always loved the idea of summer, and sun, and all things hot..."

Kristoff raised an eyebrow as he deadpanned. "Really? I guess you don't have much experience with heat."

"Nope! But sometimes I like to close my eyes and imagine what it'd be like when summer does come." Olaf replied, sighing dreamingly, which earned a shocked and dumbfounded expression from Kristoff, especially since he and the others knew that Olaf would only end up melting in the summer heat due to being a snowman.

"I'm gonna tell him." Kristoff muttered.

"Don't you dare." Anna warned as she, Riku and Mickey gave him glares.

"So, come on! Elsa's this way! Let's go bring back summer!" Olaf said, leading the group towards the mountain as he tagged Anna along by the arm.

"I'm coming." She giggled as she, Riku and Mickey, who both shared another glance with smiles despite the truth, then quickly followed and Sven hopped along. Kristoff on the other hand, just stood there staring at the group as though they were insane.

"Someone has to tell him." The man muttered to himself, before hurrying to catch up to the others. Yet none of them were aware that they were to meet more people, ones that Riku and Mickey would recognize.

* * *

After felt like forever, Sora and his companions finally landed into the snow at the near bottom of the mountain. While the teenager laid on his front, Donald had his head stuck in a pile of snow, and Goofy ended up burying himself in the snow with his arms sticking out up in the air. Even though the snow had broke their fall, it had still been a rough landing, no thanks to Larxene.

Groaning a bit, Sora pushed himself up and saw the condition his friends were in, and exclaimed worriedly. "Donald! Goofy! Are you okay?"

Donald, at first stuck, pulled hard until he plopped out of the snow pile and on his bottom, dazed as he replied, eyes rolling in his head. "I'm okay..."

"_All good!_" Goofy muffled, waving his arms and giving Sora the okay signs with two hands.

A few minutes later after Sora and Donald regained their bearings, they both dug Goofy out of the snow and were now standing in a circle discussing their next course of action, seeing that they were right back to square one all over again.

"I think we should probably go check on Elsa." Sora suggested.

"And make sure Larxene was wrong about her magic." Goofy agreed, and Sora and Donald both nodded.

"But don't you tell her what Larxene said." Donald firmly told the teenage wielder who sighed.

"I know; the world order." Sora acknowledged. "But we have to at least warn her of the dangers."

Despite the concerned look on Goofy's face and the stern look on Donald's face, they both knew that Sora had a good point. Either way, Elsa had to be protected from Organization XIII. Especially Larxene. With that in mind, the trio began to retrace their steps, until Goofy stopped when he heard a rumbling sound coming from up the hill behind them.

"Wait, fellas. Do ya hear that?" He called up, which made both Sora and Donald stop and tried to listen. Surely enough, the rumbling grew louder and louder and they began to worry.

It wasn't until Donald looked and exclaimed in horror. "Look!"

The others turned and from the distance a huge pile of snow was coming down towards them in a high speed, and while Sora was unfamiliar with it even though it reminded him of a frozen flood, Donald and Goofy, having grown up with occasional winter in Disney Town with King Mickey, immediately knew what it was.

"AVAAAAALANCHE!" The Disney Duo screamed out in horror, while Sora stared at the avalance in shock and growing horror as memories of an avalanche caused by Mulan to stop the Hans and the Heartless in the Land of the Dragons instantly came back to him.

Having an idea on how to avoid in getting killed by the avalance, Goofy quickly summoned his shield and slammed it onto the ground to use as a sled. "Quick, climb aboard!"

"Right!" Sora nodded as he and Donald both hopped on and soon they quickly went sliding down the hill with the avalanche close behind them. To make things worse for the trio, flying-wolf-like Heartless emerged from the large amount of snow and roared to which Sora, Donald and Goofy looked behind to see and their eyes widened that things had gotten just as bad.

"It's closin' in!" Goofy exclaimed hysterically.

"Look out!" Donald screamed, pointing ahead of them as they saw they were nearing a hump of rock and snow. While he and Goofy were worried, Sora was determined to make it.

"I got this! Hold on!" Sora ordered his friends, and when they did, they used their weight to hold onto the shield and hopped up, narrowly avoiding a laser beam from one of the Heartless and went flying into the air. After correcting their position, they landed neatly and continued sliding down the hill faster and faster, sliding from side to side to avoid in coming tree roots and rocks, and still dodging laser attacks from the Heartless since they couldn't fight them in their current situation.

They then sped through the forest and incoming Heartless in front of them emerged and made to attack. Thankfully, Sora quickly summoned his Keyblade and shot out spells that got rid of some while the rest were engulfed by the large pile of snow since they were not like the Heartless that were actually from the avalanche itself. Next they sped through another canyon similar to the one they passed through walking up and avoided the walls and rocks, before jumping off another hump before landing back on the ground safely once again, and yet the Avalanche was still chasing after them and so were the Heartless.

Just then as they were passing another forest, their eyes widened as in front of them were a pack of wolves that were hearing the commotion and, seeing a set of meals coming towards them, growled hungrily and there was also another tree root up ahead as well as a dense bush with a tunnel only large enough to fit just the three of them.

"Incoming! Watch out!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Bend low!" Sora instructed, pushing his friends down as he ducked, thankfully zooming past the wolves before they had the chance to even leap at them before they were engulfed by the avalanche. The trio in the meantime sled through the dense jungle and tried their best to avoid the twigs and leaves getting into their faces. Luckily, they sped out through the exit but were heading towards another cliff. They braced themselves and for like the third time in a row, flown off and descended towards the ground. They repeated their previous saves and landed safely while continuing on to try and escape their snowy doom.

Eventually they seemed to out-run the avalanche and came a stop, but when Sora, Donald and Goofy hopped off the latter's shield, the same Heartless that followed them appeared and the trio quickly summoned their weapons to fight the monsters. Sora tossed his Keyblade at one of the flying Heartless' heads, but it flew out of the way the first time, but it was unsuccessful the second time when it came back at it. When the weapon returned to the teenager, Sora dodge-rolled out of the way when the Heartless shot out another laser attack which destroyed a rock behind him.

When he saw this, Sora thought quickly and focused on his Wisdom form, where his clothes turned blue and he slid all around the battle field in the snow which had the Heartless try to attack him, but the Keyblade Wielder shot out numberous attacks such as Firaga, Wateraga, Thunderaga and Gravitaga to help him. He managed to hit the Heartless, and was almost hit himself by another laser attack, before Sora leaped up and thrust the Kingdom Key right at it's head, finally finishing it off before moved to the other Heartless that were attacking at the same time.

In the meantime, Donald jumped and screamed when another Heartless' laser attack almost vaporized him and then ran when it started chasing him but was nearly hit by another flying Heartless and ducked just in time for the two Heartless above him to crash into each other and nearly landed on top of him. The magican dodged it as they hit the ground before he glared at them angrily and then used his Fireworks spell at them before they could even recover. One of them however managed to recover enough to move out of the way and fired another laser at him. Donald gulped and tried to counter with a Firaga Spell, but it was vaporized and he screamed before being pulled out of the way by Sora while Goofy reflected it with his shield due to it's strong defense against most attacks.

The Heartless that didn't escape Donald's Fireworks spell was eventually destroyed itself, which left the one that almost vaporized him down left. Goofy in the meantime tossed his Shield at the remaining Heartless, but it reflected it much to his shock before flying in to attack him. The Captain of the Knights retrieved his shield and ran to avoid the attacks, but was swiped at the, uh, bottom by it's claws that made him scream in pain before he yelped and covered his head with the shield as it tried to take a bite out of him, but it was reflected and drawn back. Thankfully, it allowed his friends to help him finish it off once and for all.

Though they fought more Heartless that appeared, the last two decided to try another approach and flew up into the canyon walls and crashing into them, destroying themselves in the process but to Sora, Donald and Goofy's dismay, the monsters created yet another Avalanche. Horrified, the trio turned and quickly ran as fast as they could. Unfortunately it wasn't enough, as they didn't repeat their last strategy and were quickly engulfed by the avalanche that continued downward as they screamed.

By the time it finally stopped, their world went black.

* * *

As they were still making their way through the forest towards the mountain, Riku's group were discussing a few things with their new friend Olaf who, despite the weirdness of the snowman being alive, he was actually really friendly and they quickly got on with him. However as they were nearing a frozen lake, they heard a rumbling sound that made them stop in confusion.

"What was that?" Anna asked, only to be shushed by Kristoff as he, Riku and Mickey listened out for the source of the sound. But as they did, it stopped as soon as it started, like it never even happened.

"Why did the earth rumble like that?" Olaf asked, confused.

"Hmmm...Maybe it was an avalanche." Mickey shrugged. It sounded like one, and he'd seen his fair share of avalanches back in Disney Town before he became a King. "But it sounds really far away."

"I think you're right. In fact, it sounds like it just stopped." Riku agreed. Which was a good thing, because the last thing they needed was to having to out-run an avalanche and end up buried.

"Phew...sure glad we're far away from it. Last thing we need is to get killed by an avalanche." Kristoff sighed in relief.

"I hope Elsa wasn't caught in it. She has to be safe, right?" Anna said, worriedly, thinking about the worse case scenario.

"I-I'm sure she's okay. In fact, the avalanche must've just happened and Elsa could be in the safe place." Mickey tried to reassure, only to caught sight of something, or rather, someone, familiar when he turned back to ahead of them. On that path towards a forest to their left, his eyes widened as he spotted a familiar figure hidden within the trees, glaring at them. Or mainly at him; the former blue hair that turned silver, the blue eyes that were now glint gold, and the outfit that reeked with darkness.

'_...Aqua?_' Mickey thought, daring to hope and fear.

Aqua, realizing that she was spotted by her 'former' friend, glared harder but rather than going into a full attack, her inner light took brief control and forced her to turn and run further into the trees.

"Aqua, wait!" Mickey cried out, and without thinking, hurried to catch up to his friend and try again to talk sense into her.

"Mickey!" Riku exclaimed, as he too had caught sight of the corrupted Keyblade Wielder who once again was escaping from them.

"Who was that lady?" Kristoff asked, as he, Anna, Sven and Olaf caught sight of, to them, the unfamiliar woman.

"Someone we know and, well, let's just say her problem is similar if not worse than Elsa's." Riku carefully explained, before telling them firmly. "You guys go on ahead. We'll catch up as soon as we can."

Before the others could ask anymore questions, Riku quickly took off after his friend and the other Keyblade Master, leaving behind Anna, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf who all shared confused and concerned expressions, all wondering if Mickey and Riku's friend was in the worse case than Elsa's current problem. To which it made Anna begin to fear that Elsa could end up in a dark place if she didn't figure out her own powers soon.

That increased Anna's guilt in her heart.

* * *

Aqua felt herself getting worse. She could sense it. While the corrupting darkness was increasing, her lighter self was still struggling to hold back the dark desire to end the lives of Mickey and the others. On top of that, the girl that was with them...

Finally stopping in a dead end close by a small cliff, Aqua grunted as darkness covered her slightly once more before fading. Panting, she then said softly to herself. "**That girl...her light matches that of the one in Jamestown. But, there's another up on the mountain. That is why Mickey and Riku are here; to keep them safe and once again foolishly doing as they are told.**"

Suddenly sensing another light-no, two more lights, extremely familiar, Aqua turned to her left and, narrowing her brows as she saw, sprawled on the ground, where the unconscious forms of Sora, Donald and Goofy who, while still alive, were laying in the snow after passing out but surviving the avalanche.

At first, Aqua sensed that the boy with the spiky hair looked familiar, before her eyes widened as not only she saw a near-invisible image of a four year old Sora, but as soon as it vanished, another, much more familiar boy was laying in the same unconscious position as the Keyblade Wielder. One with blonde-short spiky hair, the black and white short jacket with a familiar armor guard, and grayish shorts...

The light within her reacted a lot stronger as she placed a hand to her heart, squeezing her eyes shut, moaning in pain as the ghostly image of her former self took form. In fact, Aqua somehow regained control even for a brief moment and her corruption disappeared. Opening her eyes, they had returned to normal and welled up into tears.

"...Ven!?" She exclaimed, her heart aching in a mixture of relief, sorrow and guilt. Even as the image of Ventus vanished and her sight returned to reality, with Sora still there, Aqua felt confused and disorientated in shock and relief, memories of when she first met Sora all those years ago, and then realized there was a connection.

"Sora..." Aqua whispered, even as the darkness began to quickly retake control. Memories came back to her as she thought of the first time she met Sora and Riku when they were both just children...

* * *

_Flash-Back: Aqua's memories..._

_She was standing on the small sandbar that connected to the play island of Destiny Islands. Aqua spotted the star shaped fruit which were the very same ones she heard of in legends and smiled, before sighing as she held out her lucky charm that she made, before hearing something and turned just in time to see two young boys, one silver hair and five years old, the other being a year younger with brown spiky hair._

_Smiling and even though she shouldn't approach such children, Aqua walked back onto the bridge and smiled down at the two boys, as the youngest, Sora, was protesting his friend, Riku._

_"One more time! You just got lucky." Sora was challengingly him, only to notice that Riku spotted something above them. "Huh?"_

_Looking up to see, the two saw Aqua who smiled warmly, and then hopped down neatly in front of them. Sora jumped a little, before chuckling sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. Aqua giggled in return, before gazing at Riku who stared at her curiously._

_'_This boy looks so sincere-just like Terra._' Aqua thought to herself, before turning to Sora and her smile widened a little. The hair was different, but the face reminded her of someone else. '_And this one-he's the spitting image of Ven._'_

_It made her laugh again, while the two boys shared a confused glance. Aqua then thought that one of them might be special; they seemed to have potential in becoming future Keyblade Wielders. She had learned of the power of the Keyblade inheritence, and told by Master Eraqus that one day she, Terra and even Ven may find their own successors._

_Then she asked kindly, "Hey, you two mind telling me your names?"_

_"I'm Sora!" Sora replied friendly, holding his hand up with a bright smile._

_"And you?" Aqua turned to the silver haired boy next._

_"Riku." Riku replied._

_But as Aqua stared at Riku, it was then that she sensed that he was already gifted the inhertience of the Keyblade. Could it have been Terra? Realizing that it may be so, she quickly decided that it was best not to give the power of the Keyblade to the two boys in front of her, even if Sora, in his own way within his heart despite being ordinary, was also special. But maybe..._

_"Sora, do you like Riku?" Aqua asked the youngest boy._

_"Of course I like him!" Sora replied. "He's my best friend!"_

_"Good. So then, if something happens, and Riku is about to get lost-" Aqua stopped herself, before saying again more carefully, hoping that Sora would understand. "or say, he starts wandering down a dark path alone-you make sure to stay with him and keep him safe. That's your job, Sora, and I'm counting on you to do it, okay?"_

_While the two boys shared a confused glance, they laughed as Aqua gently ruffled their hairs playfully as she laughed with them. Despite this being their first meeting, she immediately had grown to like them, other than the fact that like Kairi in Radiant Garden, Sora and Riku were adorable..._

* * *

End of Flash-Back:

As the memory ended, Aqua sighed, before gasping sharply and placed both hands to her chest as the darkness quickly began to cover her up from her heart and spreading across her body already.

'_**What you see is nothing more than what they had become now; pawns of the light. They had heard of you, but I keep on telling you. No one had found you, and no one wanted to.**_' A dark voice close to her own said ominously.

As Aqua struggled to fight the corrupting darkness, Mickey had just came from around the corner and skid to stop, gasping in horror as he saw that his friend had somehow returned to normal, but was now quickly returning to her corrupted form for a mysterious reason. What could this mean?

"Aqua!" The King exclaimed, racing over to see if he could do something, anything, to hold off the darkness.

Hearing his voice, Aqua turned even as her image blurred and fuzzed, before her corrupted form took over, quickly replacing her terrifed expression into that of a glare. Despite her true self struggling, Aqua summoned Riku's Way to Dawn Keyblade and pointed it threateningly at Mickey who froze to a stop, just inches from the weapon's tip close to his chest. Neither moved for a moment, only staring at each other.

By then, Riku had caught up but stopped when he saw what was happening and was speechless, not sure what to do or what was happening despite the fact that the darkness still corrupted the former blue-haired woman.

"**I know why you're here. Still following orders to protect the light and to destroy me.**" Aqua hissed darkly.

"That's not true!" Riku protested.

"We're not here to destroy you! We're trying to save you from the darkness!" Mickey exclaimed pleadingly. "Aqua, I know that you're fightin' it within your heart! You gotta keep trying! Don't let it win! Please!"

Aqua was about to respond when her former self again attempted to regain control, but even as she glanced at the unconscious Sora's form, it didn't restore her briefly like she had managed to. Instead, she grunted while hissing, "**...STAY AWAY!**"

Even though it looked like she was about to strike Mickey who gasped softly and found himself freezing on the spot and Riku made to pull him back, to their shock, confusion and surprise, Aqua spun around and summoned another corridor of darkness before running into it.

"No, stop!" Mickey cried out pleadingly, but like before, it was too late. The corridor closed up before Mickey and Riku could even enter it and they just stopped. The King could only gaze at the spot where his friend had been and lowered his head in guilt, worry and sorrow.

"The darkness that corrupted her is getting worse. But she's still fighting." Riku muttered, even though he was twice as concerned now than before.

"You're right, Riku. She is still fightin'." Mickey muttered. "Aqua even regained control of herself briefly. I've seen it. She was back to normal by the time I caught up with her. But...the darkness Xehanort had cast onto her is very strong."

The mouse shook his head, willing his tears not to fall. "The only way to really save her is the Key to Return Hearts."

"We'll figure something out. The fact that she's still trying proves that she's still there." The silver haired teen reassured.

Mickey wiped away his tears and turned to smile in gratitude to him when he finally noticed the unconscious trio and gasped in shock and worry. "Oh no!" He exclaimed.

When Riku turned to see what had his friend worried, he quickly shared it as the sight of Sora, Donald and Goofy lying there unconscious made his heart freeze up. Had they been fighting the corrupted Aqua and lost? Or had she just caught them off-guard? Or was it them that caused the avalanche? Either way, they needed help, immediately.

"Sora!" Riku exclaimed, as and Mickey quickly hurried over and went to check up on them. The latter went to check up on his magican and captain while the former knelt on one knee and shook his younger friend's shoulder. "Sora! Hey, Sora!"

* * *

"Sora! Hey, Sora!"

'_W-what?_' Sora thought groggily, as his world finally began to return to him. That voice...could it be? Opening his eyes slowly as he groaned, the teenager looked up as his vision finally began to clear, and at first he thought he was hallucinating, because the sight of his best friend hovered over him with a worried expression.

"Riku...?" He groaned, before his head finally cleared up, and to his surprise, Sora realized that it wasn't a hallucination after all. It was indeed Riku who sighed in relief. So Sora pushed himself up quickly and exclaimed in surprise, "Riku!? You're here?"

"Yup. Are you okay?" Riku nodded, relieved that his best friend was alright.

"Uh, yeah...?" Sora replied, still bewildered and wondering if he was dreaming.

"Donald! Goofy! Are you alright?" Mickey exclaimed worriedly, which was enough for both Sora and Riku to turn to see the King check up on the other two who were also finally coming out of it as well. When they did, their eyes widened in shock and disbelief while Mickey smiled in relief. "Oh, thank goodness! Are you okay?"

"Huh!? Your Majesty!?" Donald and Goofy exclaimed, shocked at first, before they happily pulled their King into a hug which made Mickey laugh as he returned the embrace.

"Your Majesty?" Sora asked, still bewildered, which had the reunited Disney Trio turn to face him after a while.

"Gosh, I didn't expect you three to be here. So um, what happened?" Mickey replied, also relieved that Sora was alright, and to his and Riku's surprise, Sora, Donald and Goofy didn't have any much of battle marks or even hits from Aqua attacking them. Maybe it was a strong Heartless.

"We were escapin' an avalanche, then attacked by Heartless who caused another one that caught us." Goofy explained.

"Guess that just confirms what we heard earlier." Riku remarked, before turning to Sora and asked. "But, what are you doing here?"

"Well, while we were brought here to find another piece of light the keys brought us to since last night." Sora began, which surprised both Riku and Mickey.

"You found one of the seven pieces already?" Mickey asked.

"Actually, we already found three." Donald corrected.

"We're not sure why, but everytime Sora found 'em, the keys keep on leadin' us to the next world where the other pieces are." Goofy added.

"Keys?" The King tilted his head to the side slightly, puzzled.

"Yeah. We think that the pieces of light are keys." Sora nodded, digging into his pockets and pulled out the aforementened keys and held them out to show to Riku and Mickey; the one with the red crystal from Twilight Town, the orange one from Kuzco Empire, and the yellow one from the Kingdom of Corona. "See? they were hidden in areas no one even thought of."

"They do have a warm light in them. I'd say that you're right." Riku remarked as he and Mickey gazed at the keys.

"Wow. Looks like you fellas are already gettin' pretty close. I've never seen keys like those before, and I betcha they're what will lead ya's to the Key to Return Hearts." Mickey stated.

"The same thought came to our minds too." Sora nodded in agreement, carefully putting the pieces of light back into his pockets before standing up, and then continued. "Anyway, when we got here and fought off Heartless, we noticed that everything was weirdly freezing up, and found out that it was because of the Queen of this world's kingdom named Elsa."

"Elsa!?" Riku and Mickey both exclaimed in shock.

"You know her?" Goofy asked, confused and surprised as were both Donald and Sora.

"We briefly met her in the Kingdom earlier. But well, she and her younger sister Anna kinda got into a fight and Elsa couldn't really control her power. Everybody else except the three of us got scared and she was even more scared that her magic began to freeze everything up. She then ran away all the up to the North Mountain, which is where Riku, Anna and I are goin', with a help of three new friends." Mickey explained.

'_So that's why Elsa was so sad. Because of what happened._' Sora thought to himself. Well, that explained a few things at least.

"What about you? How is it that you're not with her?" Riku questioned.

"Well, we followed her and tried to cheer her up, but I guess she didn't want to hurt anybody and just kept running. We tried to follow her again, but we got side-tracked by an Organization member named Larxene." Sora replied.

"And that mean woman trapped us in a freezing labyrinth before we managed to escape." Donald grumbled, folding his arms in irritation.

"And even when we caught up with Elsa who used her magic to build herself a palace made of ice, Larxene showed up again and blew us away back down. And I think she also caused the avalanche even though her power was with lightnin' and not ice." Goofy concluded.

"Which brings us to the avalanche problem and how we ended up passing out." Sora finished.

Riku and Mickey shared a glance, wondering if Aqua had just regained control long enough not to strike down Sora, Donald and Goofy while they had passed out. It made sense, but it still left the question of how or why Aqua briefly regained control and not kill the trio.

"Looks like you didn't see Aqua after all while you were here." Mickey stated, which made the three of them gasp in shock and disbelief themselves.

"Aqua was here!?" Sora, Donald and Goofy exclaimed.

"That's why we're here, other than helping Anna to find Elsa. We spotted her and she somehow regained control briefly, before the darkness took control over her again, but not enough to fight us." Riku explained.

Mickey sighed, "I even saw her back to her normal self before the darkness took over her. But no matter how many times we tried to catch up to her, she always escapes through the corridor of darkness. This is actually the third world we've been to, to try and bring her home. It doesn't help with the Organization and Sephiroth tryin' to make the darkness take her completely."

"Sephiroth!?" Sora, Donald and Goofy exclaimed again, before sharing a glance of concern and fear as memories of meeting Sephiroth who wanted to have Cloud's heart to be cast into darkness. It was bad enough that the Organization were already attempting to turn her into their possible final vessel, but now Sephiroth was in the loop too?

"Great. First Cloud and now Aqua. Can't that guy just leave everybody alone?" Sora groaned.

"We actually met up with Cloud in another world. That's a long story and he's still chasing after Sephiroth." Riku informed, remembering the events in Jamestown.

"Really?" Donald blinked.

"Gawrsh, I guess that means the Organization could be goin' after Cloud now too if Sephiroth's goin' after Aqua like they are." Goofy muttered worriedly.

"Not to mention those guys were talking about 'New Seven Lights' or something. 'Cause Marluxia wanted to keep Rapunzel locked up in that tower for the rest of her life, and now Larxene's after Elsa." Sora added.

Riku groaned while Mickey looked horrified when they heard this. The former then shook his head and informed. "Well, I hate to break it to you, but the fake Ansem had interests in another Princess we met named Pocahontas."

"And not only that, I felt the warm lights in Pocahontas, Elsa and Anna, just like with Kairi and the other Princesses of Heart. And if we're right, then they're looking for replacements since Xehanort probably figured out we'd be protecting the Princesses." Mickey firmly added.

"Well, they're not gonna go after Elsa or anyone else on my watch." Sora declared with determination. "I don't care what Larxene says, we're gonna save her whether the Organization likes it or not! Aqua too!"

"Then let's regroup with Anna and the others. They shouldn't have gone too far by now." Mickey declared in agreement, and all four of his friends nodded.

With that in mean, and coming to an agreement to travel together in this world for a while before returning to their main missions to find both the Piece of Light hidden in this world and Aqua, Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy hurried down the path to rejoin Anna, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf.

But none were aware that things were not going to be any more easy than they would like. In fact, the worst was still yet to come.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that the battles were lacking here, but I promise you there will be more hopefully in the next chapter. So now Riku and Mickey have reunited with Sora, Donald and Goofy and the adventure in Arendelle continues!**

**I'll update this again as soon as possible. Until then, see you later!**


	32. Chapter 31: Let's build a Snow-monster

**Author's note: Not much to say, apart from things going absolutely crazy for the past couple of weeks, with usual daily life(including important things to do), Father's Day shopping, plus my Birthday in two days.**

**Good news, though: I now finally have the Kingdom Hearts: Re-Coded Novel! Picked it up yesterday in fact since I ordered it. Though I'm saving that since it's my Birthday Present.**

**Anyway, enough about me. Let's continue on with the adventure with our heroes!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 31: Let's build a Snow-monster.

As Riku and Mickey lead Sora, Donald and Goofy back to the frozen lake where the former two knew where Anna and the others were, they were discussing a few unusual things that happened after meeting Anna and agreeing to help her find Elsa.

"...And then we met Olaf, who, surprisingly, is a walking and talking snowman." Riku continued the story.

"Whoa! Seriously?" Sora gapped in awe.

"Snowman?" Goofy asked, confused.

"Yup. But he's a really nice fella. We think that when Elsa accidentally created the blizzard, she must've brought Olaf to life." Mickey added.

"But everybody knows snowmen can't walk..." Donald pointed out, only to trail off when he and the others spotted Anna, Kristoff, Sven and, to Sora and Goofy's surprise and Donald's shock, Olaf himself.

"I can't wait to meet Elsa. I bet she's the nicest, warmest, best person ever." Olaf was saying to his companions.

"Awesome! A walking, talking snowman." Sora exclaimed, while Donald was speechless.

Riku smirked, "Told you." not really surprised with Sora's reaction. Then again, his best friend would believe almost anything that isn't really normal.

"Well, what do you know? You were right!" Goofy stated to Riku and Mickey who smiled and nodded. To think that there was a snowman that was alive, it was amazing. Then again, it wasn't the first time they'd been in a world where things that weren't normal for them to be normal to the citizens. Though given the events that has happened here so far, it wasn't normal.

"I wanna look!" Sora said excitedly. Before his friends could stop him, the teenager rushed over and stopped in front of Olaf who, not having expected anyone to just jump out in front of him, jumped slightly, startled. Sora bend on one knee and said in awe. "Wow! You really are alive! What's making you walk?"

"Um, well, I guess... my feet." Olaf replied, not sure how to really describe on this spiky-haired boy said. He then got a good look at Sora and said in awe himself. "Wow! Look at all the pretty colours. Black. Just like my buttons. And your head is spiky."

""_"Spiky"_? You mean my hair?" Sora asked, gesturing at his hair.

By then, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy approached, to which Olaf, seeing them, added while commenting about the latter two. "Oh! Hi Riku! Hi, Mickey! Ooh! Look at all the pretty colours. There's blue, and green-ooh, I love green!"

"Riku, Mickey." Anna spoke up as she and Kristoff, hearing the commotion turned and approached the group and Olaf. She then asked the aforementioned duo and Olaf. "Oh. Are these three your friends?"

"Yep, they sure are. Turns out, they were caught in that avalanche a little while ago. But they're okay." Mickey answered, while he still felt terrible that Aqua managed to get away and the darkness still corrupted her.

"So you two are friends with blue, green, and who's oddly spiky?" Olaf asked.

Sora blinked. "Wait, why don't I get a colour too?"

Mickey just laughed. "Aw, it's okay, Sora. I didn't get a colour either."

"Oh. Okay." Deciding to forget about it, Sora turned his attention back to Olaf and introduced himself. "Like K-uh, Mickey said, my name is Sora." He had quickly correct himself from revealing that Mickey was in fact a King. While Mickey didn't mind of anyone calling him by his real name, Sora still felt awkward since he didn't feel right in doing so like Riku or Master Yen Sid.

"And I'm Donald Duck!" Donald introduced himself proudly.

"And I'd be Goofy the Green!" Goofy added, which made both Mickey and Riku chuckle when the Captain of the Knights said the green part.

"Hello. I'm Anna." Anna replied, already feeling like Sora's group aren't bad people. She turned to Kristoff and told him despite what he told her last night. "And I know they're strangers, but... they seem pretty nice to me. Plus, they're friends of Riku and Mickey."

Knowing that she was right, and that Riku, Mickey, Sora, Donald and Goofy seemed to be very close friends, Kristoff couldn't help but feel like that Anna was right. So he sighed and introduced himself and his reindeer. "I'm Kristoff, and this is Sven."

He then remembered the reason why Riku and Mickey had to run off ahead and asked, "Say, did you manage to meet up with the lady you guys know?"

Remembering in having to leave the group to try and locate Aqua, Mickey and Riku both lowered their gazes and shook their heads sadly and in disappointment. The King replying, "Nope. She got away."

He then added with determination, "But I'm not gonna give up her. No matter how long it takes, I'll find her again and bring her home."

"Just like I won't give up on Elsa." Anna stated, praising the mouse for his determination.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Sora stood up and said. "Riku told us that you guys are trying to find her and that she's your sister."

"We're going to see her too." Goofy added, which surprised Anna, Kristoff and Olaf, the three of them turning to Riku and Mickey who nodded to confirm it.

"You know Elsa?" The Princess asked Sora, Donald and Goofy.

"Yeah, we ran into her up the mountain. Do you mind telling us what's going on around here? Apart from what Riku and Mickey told us. We're worried. We think your sister might be in some trouble." Sora explained and requested.

Hearing this made Anna feel even more worried, and given the events that has been happening, she couldn't help but wonder if Hans was in trouble too and that the Duke decided to finish things off himself secretly, and while she thought it was silly, she just had a bad feeling. So, deciding that she can trust Sora and Kristoff agreed, and hoping that he liked long stories, Anna began to tell Sora what had happened. Kristoff in the meantime decided to give Anna some time to explain things to the others, and lead Olaf and Sven off somewhere, pretending to give the latter something to eat.

Sora and Anna then took a seat on a rock where the latter began to fully explain how all of this unfolded, and Riku and the others listening in but keeping their presence somewhat back just in case. Riku and Mickey couldn't help but fully wonder how this happened as Anna hadn't told them the full story yet either.

"When we were little, my sister and I used to be really close." Anna began, as her mind flashed back to when she was just a little girl, how one day she saw it was snowing outside, and tried to get to Elsa to come out an play, but nothing worked. "But then, one day, for some reason, Elsa just shut me out. Years passed and we barely saw each other. Then, finally, it was time for her coronation. Let's just say I was more than a little excited. I thought we'd finally have a chance to talk. But at the party, I did something that made her mad. We got into an argument, and I lost my temper. I was just so frustrated! And then, well... that's when she used her magic to push me away."

She sighed, briefly singing a song about building a snowman like she did when she tried to convince Elsa to play with her a long time ago. When Anna finished, she sighed again in guilt, but still with determination to find her. Given what has happened, and now Mickey revealing something similar happened to one of his friends, it made the Princess's heart ache even more.

"It was all my fault. I shouldn't have upset her the way I did. Elsa ran away because she was frightened. I have to bring her home." Anna finished explaining.

The hearts of Sora, Riku, Donald, Goofy and Mickey sank when they heard this, to which finally put the pieces of the puzzle together of what went wrong, and given how Anna said yes to marry Prince Hans when the two only just met, didn't help matters at all. They were mixed with several emotions inside themselves and their own thoughts as they felt sorry for Anna and Elsa, how hard it was for both of them.

"I'm sure she knows how much you love her." Sora reassured, even though he realized this was why Elsa was upset. The newly crowned Queen hid her powers for so many years and had no full control over it and felt, now that it had been exposed, it was best to disappear in order to protect everyone, especially her sister since she didn't want to hurt Elsa. Despite looking better after she created her Ice Palace, Sora realized that she was trying to make a new life so that everyone would be safe without her, despite that she was most likely having the heart-ache of never seeing Anna again.

It reminded him so much of what Riku went through; how Maleficent and Xehanort's Heartless tricked him into falling into darkness, and despite having returned to the light, due to the darkness in his heart and having forced himself to take the form of the fake Ansem in order to return Roxas to Sora to restore him. That Riku had to hide away and hadn't wanted Sora or Kairi to find him, believing that he wouldn't recognize him, not the way he looked. Despite Sora having wanting to find him, Riku had felt guilty for what happened and thought he to push both him and Kairi away, to protect them.

And how Mickey made a promise not to reveal it and despite that the King felt guilty himself for not telling Sora, it was for Riku's sake. Now that Sora thought about it, maybe Aqua felt that way too, hence to why she ran off other than the corrupting darkness. Some part of her original self felt the need to keep Mickey and the others safe, like how she tried to get Ven to return home for his safety. Same with Terra.

Maybe it was the same with Xion, and that's why she had to disappear. Something happened between her, Roxas and Axel, and she did so in order to protect them. In the end, it hadn't worked out for either of them; Xion vanished, Roxas had been forced to return to Sora by Ansem the Wise who felt it necessary and that had been unfair, and Axel tried everything to get them back, even by using Kairi, but upon realizing it wouldn't happen that way and he actually felt guilty for doing so, sacrificed himself to save Sora's group. Despite having returned with his Heart and as Lea, he still didn't have his best friends back.

It was then that Sora felt the same sensation he felt many times before lately, that zapping feeling in his mind, though this time it felt more hazy than before and not as bad, almost like...he was remembering a dream of sorts...

* * *

_Xion knew she was dreaming, but the way how she and Roxas were sitting on the paopu tree in Destiny Islands with Axel leaning against it next to them felt really real, familiar, and...comforting. She had no idea that the sunsets on the beach were really beautiful. Even so, she couldn't help but think of what she had learned so far, and it hurt her more than anything._

_"Is it that I'm not supposed to exist?" She asked, somberly._

_"Well, what do you want to do, Xion?" Axel asked, as he and Roxas glanced at her, as though understanding what she was going through, even though she knew that they were just dream fragments of her real friends, who had no clue on what was going on._

_"I want...I want to be with you two." Xion replied, folding her hands on her lap, blinking in slight surprise when Roxas gently placed his own on top of them._

_"Then come back with us." Roxas encouraged._

_Despite that the encouragement and support was what she really wanted, Xion knew better and shook her head in sadness. "I can't... Not the way I am now. But...what would it take for me to be like you?"_

_Xion gazed low after glacing at both Roxas and Axel, before they all glanced at the sunset once more..._

* * *

Sora mentally blinked when he saw another one of Xion's memories. What did she mean by 'not supposed to exist'? Even though she wanted to be with Roxas and Axel badly, she couldn't, because she wasn't like them? Was that one of the reasons why she was connected to Sora himself? Then again, it made a bit more sense, yet Sora knew he couldn't think about that right now. He had to focus on the situation with Anna and Elsa.

"If anyone can help her, it's you." Sora continued to Anna who, blinking in surprise, realized that he was right, and smiled.

"Thanks." She replied.

"That's Sora for you. He always manages to give everyone he meets support and comfort." Riku told the others, smiling a little. He knew that Sora would do that. Even so, it reminded him more now of what he did and his smile faded. He knew what it was like, and he could only hope that Sora was right and that Elsa can see that Anna still loves her regardless of her uncontrollable ice magic.

Mickey lowered his gaze, and walked away a couple of steps which quickly concerned his friends before he stopped. Once again he felt doubt in his own heart, the dark reminder of Aqua's current situation.

"I hope Sora's right." The King muttered somberly. "I don't want Anna to go throught with Elsa like with what's goin' on with Aqua. But, maybe she's really mad and fell into darkness because of me."

"Whaddya mean?" Goofy asked, as he and Donald approached him.

"...If I'd been faster to save Riku, Aqua would've been saved a lot earlier too. Or if I'd gone with her to find Terra, she wouldn't ended up trapped in the first place. Then none of ya's, or Kairi or everybody else woulda been involved. I know it sounds really mean since it woulda meant that Roxas and Namine never existed, but I messed up a lot and got Ven lured into Xehanort's trap." Mickey explained, while making sure that Anna would hear him.

The King sighed as he gazed at the snow. "Everything that's happened is all my fault. I'm sorry, fellas."

This worried both Goofy and Donald as they shared a glance. First Sora, and now Mickey. While they knew that their King had done what he could, the fact that he continued to blame himself for everything that wasn't his or even Aqua's fault scared them a little. They hated seeing Mickey and Sora sad or blaming themselves for things that it was all on Xehanort's shoulders and the evil Keyblade Master wasn't even sorry at all.

"It's not your fault. It's Xehanort who caused all of this." Donald reassured.

"He's right. Xehanort pulled everybody together and tried to hurt us because he doesn't care. I bet even Aqua knows that and doesn't blame ya; it's the darkness that's makin' her think otherwise." Goofy agreed.

Even though he still felt terrible, Mickey felt that they were right. The corruption that Xehanort somehow cast onto Aqua did make things worse, and the real Aqua was still fighting as hard as she could. He smiled emotionally at them in his gratitude and thanked them. "Thanks, fellas."

"Hey, guys! We got trouble!" Kristoff's voice exclaimed out. "They're back!"

Sora, Anna, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy turned to see Kristoff running towards them with Sven and Olaf close behind. But what was behind the trio made them jump in shock as a Satyr Heartless and a couple of Wolf-Heartless were giving chase.

"The Heartless again!" Goofy exclaimed.

"I don't know what those monsters are, but I've already fallen apart today!" Olaf exclaimed in fear, already having noticed that they weren't friendly by the time he and the others reunited with the rest of the group.

Knowing what needs to be done as he, Riku and Mickey summoned their Keyblades while Donald and Goofy summoned their weapons, Sora quickly and firmly ordered Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven. "We know how to handle them! Anna, Kristoff, keep going!"

Kristoff nodded, and despite Anna's protests, he lead her, Olaf and Sven quickly up towards the path up the mountain, while Sora and the others stood ready. They each took on at least two Heartless each as more appeared to make things harder. The five of them quickly disposed of the monsters despite getting some injuries but were healed up thanks to Donald and Mickey's healing magic. It wasn't until they sensed movement behind them that Sora spun around just in time to see someone launch itself at him.

"Sora!" Riku exclaimed warningly.

Sora didn't need it, because he instinctively blocked the attack with his Kingdom Key. But when he and his friends got a better look at the attacker, not only the figure was wearing the coat of Organization XIII with the hood covering their face, but to their shock and confusion, the figure looked young in body and femanine. To make things more confusiong, she was wielding the exact same Keyblade as Sora's, as she grunted and struggled to force him down. In that instant, Sora's heart gave a powerful and somewhat painful jolt, and he felt himself feeling not one, but two hearts within him react and it thumped loudly in his ears. His eyes widened in disbelief as he somehow and instantly recognized the figure.

"...Xion?" Sora muttered in disbelief, and for a moment, he felt it. Not just his own emotions, but...Roxas reacting as well. At the same time, however, he felt another reaction inside his heart.

_"It's me...from the past."_

"Huh?" Sora blinked. Was that...Xion talking? But the figure in front of him didn't move her lips. But her mouth did open slightly in shock and confusion when the teenager spoke her name. Grunting as though feeling slight agony, 'Xion' leaped back when Riku rushed over and attempted to slash her with his Braveheart, but missed as she leaped back and stood in fighting position, the same way Sora would.

"Who are you?" Riku demanded. There was...something oddly familiar about this girl who had what he sensed was a fake version of Sora's Keyblade, but seemed real at the same time.

Xion stood there in the same position and didn't answer. Instead, she attacked again, and Sora and his friends quickly dodged despite him blocking her attack again. She then cast a Firaga Spell at him but Sora blocked it with reflect, and despite not wanting to hurt her even though he wasn't fully certain if this was one of the missing people he had to save, realized he had no choice and attacked. The two Kingdom Keys clashed and clanged against each other, and the more Sora fought, the more he felt Roxas react the same way, and, someone else extremely the same as Xion, but had no idea why. And it hurt a lot.

"Thunder!" Xion chanted, attempting to zap Sora, but thankfully Riku stepped in and countered with his own Thunderaga, while Sora forced himself to toss his Keyblade at the girl, hitting her twice. Donald and Goofy were about to join in, when Mickey, suddenly realizing that the figure was familiar too, held out an arm to stop them.

"Wait. I think I know who that is." The King told them firmly. "And I'm not sure why, but I bet Sora does, too."

"But she's with the Organization!" Donald pointed out.

"I know, but that doesn't mean all of the members were willing to join Xehanort. He's collecting vessels, and it doesn't matter whether they choose to follow him or not." Mickey replied. "It's not our fight right now."

While Donald and Goofy were worried, they had to trust in the King. Plus, they risked in disobeying him before, they couldn't do it again. Even though it was to help Sora, and the last time was to rescue him, Mickey, Riku and Lea, and Mickey was grateful for it, they couldn't risk it.

"Deep Freeze!" Sora chanted, temporarily freezing Xion in place and he and Riku quickly clashed at her in her frozen position. But as she broke free much to their shock, she slashed at them and forcing them back once more. Sora grunted as he was hit in the stomach, but brushed it off and dodge-rolled to the right when Xion almost sliced him in half with her Keyblade. Riku used this chance to knock her back as she cried out before crashing into the snow near the lake.

Sora and Riku both stood together, the former not as willing to continue fighting as the latter, but still held his Keyblade out just in case. Xion grunted, slowly pushing herself up, panting as her Keyblade dismissed itself and she placed a hand to her chest.

"Tell us who you really are." Riku commanded.

"...Someone who is forgotten." Xion answered, emotionless.

"What?" The silver haired teen asked, confused. What did she mean by that? And why did she sound like Kairi, let alone feel very familiar? Something wasn't adding up at all.

"That's not true at all!" Sora blurted out pleadingly, much to the surprise of his friends. "How could you say that everyone forgot about you?"

"Because of you, Sora." Xion continued in the same tone.

"Me?" Sora pointed at himself. Okay, he admitted that Roxas somehow forgot about her and Axel didn't mention anything, but lately he'd been seeing her memories as well as Roxas and Ven's. What he learned so far still didn't make any sense, but he had to know, especially since everyone seemed to have forgotten about her.

Without answering, Xion instead the power of darkness to teleport away, knowing that her mission was done for now.

"Wait!" Sora cried out, hurrying over to stop her, but it was too late. By the time he got to the spot, she was gone. He stopped and sighed in dismay and depression. He knew then and there, it was her. Or at least...the past version of the girl. The question was what did happen before she disappeared, and why did Sora hear her...voice say that as though she was inside him-

Wait. He heard Xion's voice in his mind, and yet she stood in front of him, but with the hood on. That other feeling he felt along with his own and Roxas...did that mean Xion's heart...was inside him too? Was that what her past-self meant and Xehanort knew? But what did that mean? No one forgot about Roxas's heart, but Sora had no memories of his Nobody until recently. That still left the weird puzzle with Ven, though. He suddenly remembered what he saw with Xion and Namine.

"...Xion." He muttered softly, in worry and guilt. By then, Riku, Donald, Goofy and Mickey approached Sora with concern and confusion.

"Sora. Do you know that girl?" Mickey queried. Up until know, he had thought that Sora didn't know the mysterious girl, and while he had a feeling that it was the same as the one he saw with Data-Sora in the Datascape, and that something terrible happened to her, but no one knew how or why.

"How much do you know about her?" Riku added.

"Not much. But, I know her name at least. It was Xion." Sora replied.

"Huh?" His best friend blinked.

"Xion." Sora repeated, turning to face his friends. "She had that Keyblade. Xion was with the Organization, and was best friends with Roxas and Axel. That was Xion from the past, before something awful happened to her."

"Xion..." Riku murmured, his brows furrowing. "I don't know how it's possible, since I don't remember anyone doing by that name in the Organization, but at the same time, I felt something familiar about her."

"Gawrsh, Sora. That was Xion ya' told us about?" Goofy asked.

"Huh? How'd you know Xion's name, Sora?" Mickey asked, surprised and confused and Riku shared it.

Sora scratched the back of his head, as he tried to explain. "Well, um...I'm not sure, exactly. Since we arrived in Twilight Town, I began to see Roxas's memories. Even ones that didn't appear before. Xion was in them, with Axel. Then lately not only I've been strangely seeing Ventus' memories, but Xion's too. In one of her memories, she was with Namine and she said something about Roxas going back with her."

He then sighed and placed a hand to his chest, adding. "Now that I think about it...I think her heart is inside me, just like Roxas's heart. I heard her say that the one we fought was her from the past."

"What!?" Riku, Donald and Goofy exclaimed in shock, while Mickey jumped in surprise.

"I knew it. It's the same girl in the journal." Mickey realized after recovering a bit. He turned to Sora and told him with a serious expression. "Sora, I've seen her with the data version of you."

"Oh yeah! Donald and Goofy told me that. The girl with the black hair, right?" Sora remembered. "That's Xion!"

"Then that means somehow or another, something awful happened, like you and Data-Sora have said. And if ya' think that it somehow had her heart got inside you like what happened with Kairi and Roxas, then you're right. Not only that, it looks like the memories of everybody inside you are beginning to awaken." Mickey continued.

"You mean..." Sora trailed off.

The King nodded. "Right. The Data version of Namine told us that you had to call these memories to the surface in order to save them. But you gotta be careful; if the memories get too painful and ya' handle it the wrong way, they'll end up hurting you so much that your heart won't be able to take it."

"...Those memories. They're the hurting that I have to face in order to save them." Sora realized. "Roxas, Namine, Xion, Aqua, Ventus, Terra...even Axel."

After a moment of silence, Sora nodded with determination returning. "I'm ready. I can face the hurt, and we're gonna save everyone who need us. It'll bring us closer together; the hurt will only make us stronger."

Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy were stunned by Sora's determination, then smiled in relief and growing excitement, as well as sharing his feelings to save everyone and end their hurting. Lea was already brought back, but the only way to end his hurting is to bring Roxas and Xion back, and even bring Isa to his senses.

"Data-Sora said that too. A-yhuck." Goofy whispered to Donald who nodded in agreement.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I'm not sure what did happen to Xion or remember who she is, but we'll figure something out." Riku stated.

"Welp, if ya ready to face those memories and to save everybody, then ya should be okay. But remember, Sora. You're not alone." Mickey added. "If ya need us, just let us know and we'll be right there with ya. We're all a team!"

"Thanks, guys." Sora smiled.

The others nodded, before Riku declared. "Come on. We have to catch up with the others."

"Oh, right! I almost forgot!" Sora exclaimed, remembering that Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven needed them. And so did Elsa. All the excitement in discovering that Xehanort had now taken the past-self of Xion as a vessel, even though she had have been one of the twelve members assembled including Xehanort himself, that meant he was one vessel down. Sora hoped it still gave them enough time to rescue the others and find the Key to Return Hearts.

First things first. They had to now focus on protecting Elsa. With that in mind, the five of them hurried up the path where Anna's group had taken, back up to the mountain.

* * *

Meanwhile, back up Elsa's Ice Palace, Anna had already stepped inside while having Kristoff, Olaf and Sven wait outside just in case, she was facing her sister who was stunned and shocked to see her having come all this way to find her.

"I'm so sorry about what happened. If I'd have known-" Anna began to apologize as she began to approach her sister who, to her dismay, backed away again.

"No-no-no, it's okay." Elsa said quickly, trying very hard not to panic. "You-you don't have to apologize, but you should probably go. Please."

"But I just got here."

"You belong down in Arendelle."

"So do you!" The youngest royal pointed out.

Elsa shook her head, stating. "No, Anna, I belong here, alone. Where I can be who I am... without hurting anybody."

Hearing this made Anna grimace. She hadn't been looking forward in revealing what happened to Arendelle, let alone that the Duke thought that Elsa tried to kill him even though it had been an accident. In fact, Hans had pointed out that the Duke just slipped on ice. But still, the fact that the Kingdom was stuck in an eternal winter was something that Anna didn't want to reveal, but knew that Elsa had to know. And that she was the only one who can do it, as long as she believed in herself.

"Actually, about that..." Anna began, hestiatedly. "You kind of set off an eternal winter...everywhere."

"Everywhere?" Elsa gasped, unable to believe what she was hearing. The Kingdom was...in an eternal winter, because of her powers? It was beginning to cause guilt and panic rise inside her. She hadn't meant it to happen...but she had vague memories as she was running away before meeting Sora, Donald and Goofy.

"Well, it's okay. You can just unfreeze it." Anna reassured.

"I can't..." Elsa shook her head. Really, she didn't know how to, and if she couldn't, then Arendelle was doomed to be stuck like this and it was her own fault. She didn't think going back was a good idea. That she might accidentally make things even worse.

"Sure you can. I know you can." Anna tried again.

But Elsa by then was already having a major panic attack, as she crouched low and exclaimed, unknowingly sending another cold breeze within the castle as she exclaimed. "I can't!"

As she did this, the walls inside the castle darkened, and without thinking, Elsa swiped her hand and a blast of ice hit Anna right into the chest, sending her to the ground. The Princess slowly stood up and grunted in pain, holding a hand to her chest where her heart was. Elsa's eyes widened in disbelief and horror.

'_No...not again._' The Queen thought in distress. Memories of how she accidentally hit her younger sister with her powers when they were children fully resurfaced, and now she has done it again. Elsa then knew then and there, Anna had to return home.

Without her.

* * *

Back outside, Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy finally arrived at Elsa's Ice Castle, and while Riku and Mickey were amazed to see it for the first time, they all noticed Sven's tongue stuck on the ice railing of the stairs, and was repeatedly trying to pull it off. But there was no sign of Anna, Kristoff or Olaf.

"Anna and the others must've gone inside." Sora remarked.

"Yeah." Riku agreed.

The group stood there for a moment, but then suddenly Sora felt a painful and somewhat icy jolt in his heart that made him grimice, and Mickey let out a soft gasp and whimper when he felt the same thing in his heart. Both of them held hands to their chests which quickly worried their friends.

"Sora! Mickey!" Riku softly exclaimed.

"Are ya hurt?" Goofy asked, worriedly.

"No, I'm fine." Sora replied as the pain eased, before he frowned in concern. "But...I think something terrible must have happened."

"I felt it too. Somethin's wrong." Mickey agreed, as he returned to normal as well.

"I hope our friends are okay." The spiky-haired teen muttered, worriedly. Though no sooner had the words left his mouth, the doors of the castle suddenly opened and at first the group half-thought it was the others. Though they were half-right, their eyes widened in shock and disbelief that Anna, Kristoff and Olaf were all being carried out by...

A half-giant snowman monster that Sora, Donald and Goofy haven't noticed before. The snowman, called Marshmallow, carried Anna and Kristoff in it's left hand, and carried Olaf in it's right hand, looking menacing and angry. Sora's group couldn't believe what they were seeing and they instantly knew that talking to Elsa hadn't helped one bit. Or maybe she and Anna had another argument that made things worse.

"Stop! Put us down!" Anna demanded angrily.

"**Go away!**" Marshmallow growled, before tossing the three of them out. Anna and Kristoff went sliding down the icy steps as they cried out before landing just in front of the large boulder covered in snow, passing the shocked Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy.

"Heads up!" Olaf exclaimed as he was tossed, and ended up falling apart again. His head and torso landed into the snowbank after Anna and Kristoff heeded his warning and ducked. He then cried out again, "Watch out for my butt!"

His said bottom and legs landed into the snowback as well. By then, Anna was angry at the rude exit she and the others had rechieved and was wasn't thinking straight, only determined to teach Marshmallow a lesson and to talk sense into her sister.

"It is not nice throw people!" Anna growled as she made a snowball, preparing to throw. Fortunately, Kristoff quickly grabbed her by the arms as he knew that doing so will only made the snow monster angry.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, feisty pants! Okay, relax. Just calm down! Calm down!" He told her hurriedly, trying to get her to calm down.

"Okay! Alright! I'm okay!" Anna exclaimed, struggling a bit before seemingly relaxing.

"Just let the snowman be." Kristoff continued.

"I'm calm." The Princess replied, much more calmly now. Unfortunately, just when Kristoff sighed in relief, Anna growled and threw the snowball at Marshmallow's face, which only provoked him as he roared in fury.

"Oh come on!" Kristoff cried out in dismay, before turning to the now worried Princess as she began to realize that it wasn't such a good idea. "See?! Now you made him mad!"

"I'll distract him. You guys go!" Olaf told the two of them, and despite not wanting to leave him behind, Anna and Kristoff and Sven, who finally freed himself, made run for it back down the mountain. But to his dismay, his body dropped his head and ran to join the others.

"No, no! Not _you_ guys!" Olaf cried out as his head was left behind, before sighing. "This just got a whole lot harder."

"We can buy you some time!" Sora told him as he, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy quickly stood protecting the head of the smaller snowman while glaring at Mashmallow who, seeing them for the first time, stomped up to the five travelers. Seeing them as more intruders, the snow monster roared loudly and right into their faces.

Which pretty much made the group quickly lose their courage.

"Then again..." Riku began, nervously.

"AAHHHHH!" Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy screamed as they turned tail and made a run for it down another hill on the other side of the mountain, with Marshmallow deciding to chase them out of blind anger. Olaf in the meantime noticed that his body returned and reassembled himself.

"Wait for me!" He cried out to Anna and the others down the other path.

* * *

Sora's group ran down the hill of the snow hill with Mashmallow close behind, only for Sora to notice that they one short.

"Huh? Where's Goofy?" Sora cried out, realizing that their goofiest friend was missing.

"Goofy! Where are ya?!" Mickey cried out, worriedly.

"Hey, fellas!" Goofy's voice called out. When Sora, Mickey, Riku and Donald looked to their left, they saw Goofy up on another hill standing next to a small tree with it's branches covered in snow. "I got an idea!"

"Goofy! What are you doing?!" Donald exclaimed, both incredulously and in exasperation. This was no time to be climbing trees!

It wasn't until Sora, Riku and Mickey realized what Goofy had in mind and smiled before they hurried up to join him. Donald, seeing and not yet fully realizing, quickly followed. Marshmallow, not realizing what was going on either, stomped towards them. The three Keyblade Wielders joined up with their friend with the plan to whack the snow monster by pulling back the top of the tree far back as possible like a slingshot.

Sora and Riku held both Mickey and Goofy who grabbed hold of the branch, the two teenagers pulling hard as far back as possible just as Marshmallow roared and was getting closer and closer towards them.

"Get ready..." Sora signaled, and his friends nodded with determination. Just as Mashmallow neared them, the spiky haired teen exclaimed. "Okay, now!"

_**Whack!**_

Mickey and Goofy let go of the tree and it slingshot so fast and hard that it caught the snow monster off-guard, smacking him hard on the head and causing him to stumble back in pain and was stunned for a long moment.

"Oh yeah!" Sora cheered as he and Riku put Mickey and Goofy back onto the ground, the three of them smiling victoriously just as Donald rejoined them. But victory was short lived as Marshmallow began to recover, now even more angrier.

"Be careful! He's not done yet!" Mickey warned, quickly summoning the Kingdom Key of Worlds. Sora, Riku, Donald and Goofy followed in suit, summoning their weapons once more.

"Bring it, snowball!" Sora challenged, his fear quickly dimmed into determination, ready to fight.

That only made Marshmallow even more mad now, because he roared before stomped to swipe at them. The group dodged it by leaping out of the way, but were nearly hit as they could feel how strong the punches were, meaning that they had to be very careful with him. He kept at it before he decided another attack. The snow monster shockingly jumped high to try and crush Sora, Donald and Goofy who leaped out of the way. But even though they did, when Marshmallow landed, the impact caused the ground to shake violently, sending shock-waves all over the place.

"Look out!" Riku warned as he and Mickey jumped avoid it. Sora, Donald and Goofy all did the same, narrowly missing in getting hit. Knowing that this was going to be tricky, they nodded before they began attacking before Marshmallow could try again to hit them. Riku leaped and slashed at Mashmallows face before sending out a Dark Firaga, which did a powerful effect as the snow monster roared in much more pain, parts of him melting off and slowly regenerating due to the cold temperature.

"Fire!" Sora chanted his Firaga, thinking along the same lines, this time having leaped behind Mashmallow and aimed the spell on the snow monster's back, sending him tumbling forward. The teenager then attacked several times with his Keyblade before jumping back to avoid Mashmallow swiping him.

"Flare Force!" Donald chanted, having upgraded his spells and send out a huge set of flames which began to engulf Marshmallow, which gave Mickey the chance to sent out an Orb of Light at the snow monster. As the flames died down and Marshmallow unable to move at the moment, the King slashed at it with his mid-air somersault skill, and Goofy helped with his Goof-Nado skill, hitting the snow monster with his Shield.

Though when they finished their attacks, Marshmallow roared, both in pain and in fury that hurt their ears. The monster then blew an icy wind at the group, which made them try to avoid it. Unfortunately, Donald couldn't get of the way in time and was covered in the wind and ended up becoming stuck in an large ice cube with an expression of wide eyes and chittering bill and teeth that would've been comical if the situation wasn't so serious.

"I'll help ya', Donald! Firaga!" Mickey called out, using his fire magic at the ice to melt it and free his Court Magican. Though it melted, the King realized too late that he used a bit too much, because he accidentally made Donald's tail caught on fire.

"WAAK!" He screamed while running around in a panic due to intensed heat. Eventually Donald just sat into the pile of snow which exthinguished the flames and made a hissing sound. He sighed in relief at the cooling effect.

"Oops. Sorry, pal." Mickey apologized, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. He and Donald then turned to see that, after Sora and Riku slashed at Marshmallow on the side and Goofy bashed the monster's stomach with his shield, the snowman in question roared once more. To their shock, he suddenly formed an armor with icy and sharp looking spikes sticking out.

Marshmallow dashed forward and as Sora and his friends were too stunned to move, the monster bashed them with his arms in such shocking speed that they all screamed and crashed into the snow which softened their landing, but they each felt the impact of the spikes. Wincing and quickly downing what remained of their elixirs and healing magic, the group had to quickly run to avoid the now much faster and furious snow monster that was charging after them. Realizing that he was too fast, the group had to try and run once again.

It wasn't until Mickey had an idea and gestured the group to the bend over trees. Getting the hint, the group hurried over towards it and this time with Donald helping out, the five friends pulled the tree back after lining up, and when Marshmallow was close enough, they let go and the snow monster was once again hit in the face. It also caused his armor to shatter completely, and left him dazed.

"C'mon!" Mickey called out, holding out his hand to his friends who realized what he was doing.

"Take this!" Sora taunted Marshmallow as he, Riku, Donald and Goofy joined hands with the King and with the power of their friendship, linked their hearts together mentally and held out their weapons, using Mickey's ability to link with others and they created a circle of light which, as Marshmallow attempted to attack them again, he was hit and knocked back in pain and unable to get to the three Keyblade Wielders, the Magican and the Knight at the moment.

Once their stragety worked, the group stopped and continued with the fight, weakening Marshmallow with fire spells. But even as they did, they realized too late that Marshmallow, despite the heavy battle, wasn't showing any near signs of slowing down and had them cornered and backed up to a cliff. They were forced to slowly back away while hoping not to fall off by accident, their weapons still in their hands.

Unfortunately, Marshmallow jumped and caused another shock wave which, given how delicate cliffs are, it crumbled underneath Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy who cried out in alarm and were too late too move. They then fell screaming all the way back down the mountain...and far from Elsa yet again.

* * *

Short time later back up at Elsa's Palace, Marshmallow had returned while the Queen sighed, still feeling guilty for having done what she did to Anna, twice in a row. To make things worse, she now learned that she had also accidentally put Arendelle into an eternal winter. But as such, Prince Hans, the Duke and their men, deciding to take matters into their own hands, charged into the castle and knocked out the snow monster.

Elsa in the meantime tried to run, but found herself trapped and cornered by the guards who held up their spears and arrows at her. She pleaded, feeling terrified. "No, please!

"Elsa!" Hans yelled out. "Don't be the monster they fear you are!"

But in the midst of the attacks, an icicle Chandelier which then began to fall towards. Elsa, seeing this after trying to defend herself, hurried to run out of the way, but as it crashed onto the floor, it knocked her off her feet and she landed hard, rendering herself unconscious. There was a tensed silence, until Hans approached the unconscious Elsa, before picking her up in his arms, and then heaved her over his shoulder. He nodded to the guards and the Duke who, all relieved, turned to make their return back to Arendelle.

All the while Hans gave the unconscious Queen an evil smirk as he carried her out. Things couldn't have gone more smoothly than he thought.

* * *

Witnessing the entire thing from the hill below and hidden were Larxene and the still hooded Xion, the former holding a frown of disappointment and annoyance.

"Well, so much for Elsa being one of the New Seven Hearts. It looks like her heart is already falling into darkness because of her icy powers." The blonde-haired Nobody grumbled, then sighed and shrugged. "Oh well, at least it was a nice try."

"Her heart isn't falling into darkness." Xion blankly pointed out.

"Hm?" Larxene murmured, turning her gaze to her current companion for the day.

"There's still a powerful light within her. Master Xehanort said as much." Xion continued.

"And since when were you an expert?" Larxene asked, skeptically. "You're a puppet. A doll, made to be our final vessel. You can't know anything about that."

The hooded girl gazed up at Larxene, replying. "I know that. But it's like you said; I was made to be the final vessel. I have a piece of Xehanort's heart within me, so I can sense the lights of our New Seven Lights. Elsa is one of the new hearts, despite her powers. The one who holds a strong darkness...is him."

By him, Xion was referring to Prince Hans as she gazed up at him. When Larxene followed the gaze, almost immediately she saw the small signs of dark mists surrounding the man while he carried the unconscious Elsa.

"Well, doesn't that complicate things a little bit?" Larxene remarked sarcastically, before glaring at Xion and added. "Just like how you lost to Sora. But then again, you're still new. There's still time for improvement. Though you'd better do it fast, because that old geezer's not one for waiting too long, and my patience is already running thin."

"I wasn't sent to destroy Sora. I was only sent to test him and me. He knows who I am, but doesn't even realize that I am only a replica." Xion stated.

That got Larxene's interest, before she smirked cruelly and giggled. "Ooh, I get it. It's the scenario with Riku and his replica all over again. Heh, I knew that loser wouldn't get it. Well, in that case, you'll soon have a playmate that'll be just like you, except he wouldn't be from Sora. In the meantime, why don't you go back and keep on training while I figure out how to get our little Elsa into our clutches. If what you say about her is true or not."

"I have to go back, anyway." Xion said, before teleporting herself from the world of Arendelle, leaving Larxene on her own once more.

"And Xehanort made it our final vessel?" Larxene scoffed, before shrugging again dismissively. "Ah, who cares? At least the kid's obedient."

What Larxene and Xion didn't know was that there was still more to this world than meets the eye.

* * *

Having lost consciousness for a little bit, Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy had managed to survive their fall and were now laying flat on the ground in another canyon, in the snow which thankfully saved them from the super hard crash landing. Though they were admittedly dazed from their experience, and in the case of Sora, Donald and Goofy, it was the second time they ended up doing this. First Larxene and now Marshmallow.

"Good thing snow's so soft. We could do this a hundred times." Sora remarked.

"No! Let's not." Donald snapped as he stood up.

Mickey moaned as he pushed himself up, rubbing his forehead as he shuddered. "I don't wanna do that again."

"Ugh. Neither do I." Riku grumbled, groaning as his back felt a bit stiff from the impact.

"Ya sure you don't wanna go again?" Goofy asked, as though finding that to actually be fun.

Apparently he was the only one who thought that, because Sora sat up quickly as he yelled out in a mixture of fear and exasperation. "_Nooo thank youuu!_" His yelling echoed through out the air at least a few times.

"Aw, we don't have time to play around." Mickey reminded as he stood up, brushing off the snow off him. "We gotta find Anna and the others and then get back to Elsa."

"Do you think everybody else made it?" Sora asked as he and the other stood up as well.

"I don't think the snow monster got 'em." Goofy stated.

Riku nodded in agreement. "We lured him away from them. So they should be fine. If anything, I think they'll head back to the ice palace and try again."

"Makes sense. For us too." Sora agreed. "We still need to talk to Elsa."

"No. If anybody's gonna bring Elsa back to the light, it's Anna. She's the only one who can really save her from the darkness." Mickey firmly told him. "The only thing we can do is keep them both safe from the Heartless."

"But why, Your Majesty?" Sora asked, shocked to hear that the King was denying him to permission to talk to Elsa.

Riku, seeing that Mickey had a point, answered for him. "Because Anna is Elsa's sister. I know that you want to try and cheer her up, but this isn't like when...well, you know. Their bond is much closer despite what's been going on. It's like you said; If anyone can help her, it's Anna."

"It's just...I don't want Elsa's heart fall into darkness, and it's already bad enough that Larxene's after her and stopped us from protecting her." Sora sighed hopelessly.

"We know you're worried, Sora. All of us are. But when it comes to tryin' in talkin' sense to a close friend or family, newer friends can't always help. That's what caused this mess in the first place, because, well...Anna met somebody and already likes him so much even if they only just met in just one day. She said was true love, but, Elsa kinda didn't agree to that." Mickey explained, trying to make Sora understand without being firm or serious or even yelling.

When Sora sighed, beginning to realize that the King had a point, Mickey quickly added. "But that doesn't mean we can't help in any other way! When things return to normal in this world, then we can talk to Elsa. How 'bout that?"

"Yeah, I guess." Sora replied. While he didn't like it, he had to agree that him talking to Elsa may not be such a good idea right now. He just hoped that Anna will be able to get through to her older sister the second time around. As he had said, he didn't want Elsa's heart fall into darkness, but at the same time, he didn't want her fall into the clutches of Organization XIII either.

They already tried that with Rapunzel, and Pocahontas. They were trying to recruit Aqua, and now they somehow got a hold of Xion who, strangely enough, seemed to lifeless. At least the past-self of her did. While Sora still had no idea what happened to the poor girl or how her heart inside inside his own, like Roxas's, he knew that he had to save her. But for now, Elsa and Anna needed help, and the only way to do that was first find the latter.

"Let's look for the others and then head back to the castle." Riku advised, and the others nodded in agreement.

"Yeah." Sora nodded. With that, he and his friends took off into the direction which they hoped was the right one and that they would meet up with their new friend soon enough.

Unaware that the situation has already gotten worse for the two sisters and their friends, and even for the world of Arendelle.

* * *

**A/N: I know it's supposedly too early to bring in Xion, but in canon-wise of Kingdom Hearts, Xion was created first before the Riku Replica. She was introdced a week after Roxas became a member of Organization XIII, and by day 23 or 24 in 358/2 Days, or a bit latter, Vexen created Repiku(Riku Replica) in Chain of Memories.**

**I won't be writing for the next week or so because the next two days will be busy; Father's Day and my Birthday. So I'll see you all in the next chapter afterwards. See ya!**


	33. Chapter 32: Love of Two Sisters

**Author's note: Sorry I haven't written in the last couple of days. I've been out most of my birthday and I had a few rest days, but all in all, I had a fantasic day with my family.**

**Still, I hope everyone is alright in Florida and no one got caught in Hurricane Dorian. For those who did, I wish you all a full recovery! **

**Oh, and before I forget, as you probably know by now, but there's a new KH3: ReMind Trailer coming out on the 10th of this month, as well as new details of the story arc of KH: Union X with four updates in October along the way!**

**Now, onward to the possibly final chapter of the Frozen Arc before we return to Kairi and Lea(which I'm still struggling on where they should go next).**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 32: Love of Two Sisters.

Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy hurried along the valley and found themselves in the forest once more, though this time an area that was thankfully familiar to both Riku and the King. Making their way through while fighting the heartless, they soon stopped when just in front of them, they saw the group of knights marching down the path. Among them were three familiar people, one unconscious and draped over the shoulder of one of the two men, unaware of Sora's group's presence.

"Hey, that's Elsa. But who's that guy?" Sora spoke up.

Riku and Mickey both blinked in shock, as the former exclaimed softly. "That's Prince Hans." This made the trio glance at them in slight surprise and confusion.

"Do you know him?" Donald asked.

"Yep. He's been put in charge to take of Arendalle by Anna before we left. The other fella is the Duke, who isn't very nice." Mickey explained, before his eyes narrowed as he muttered. "But why did they come all the way out here and went for Elsa?"

"Maybe they thought you, Riku and Anna were in trouble and decided to help Elsa." Goofy suggested.

Sora, though, felt something suspicious about the group that were carrying the unconscious Queen. "Don't think so. That doesn't look like help to me."

The very same feeling both Riku and Mickey felt from Hans before leaving the Kingdom returned, as they remembered the suspicious feeling and dark look in the man's eyes that seemed faint at first, but now that Sora apparently felt the same thing, it only got stronger. The fact that he had come all this way and was carrying Elsa the way he was just began to confirm it. It wasn't until there all five of them spotted it:

A mist of familiar black and purple forming around the Prince's body and rising up made them gasp in shock and horror. They almost instantly knew what that was and both Riku and Mickey knew, Hans couldn't be trusted at all.

"Oh no!" Donald gasped.

"Darkness?" Goofy asked, and the others nodded in agreement.

"I knew something wasn't right about him. Which means Elsa and Anna are in danger, and so is the Kingdom." Riku muttered, mentally kicking himself for not having sensed the growing strong darkness in Hans' heart. It quickly made sense of why the Prince proposed to Anna; to try and take over the Kingdom.

"Let's move!" Sora declared, and his friends nodded in agreement. However, before they could even move to rescue Elsa, more Heartless appeared blocking their path. Left with no other choice, the group quickly summoned their weapons and fought against them long and hard before they were finally able to clear the path again. By then, Hans, the Duke and their men along with Elsa had gotten far ahead of them.

But as they were about to get going, they sensed too late as another flying wolf-like Heartless appeared behind them. Sora turned and his eyes widened, before exclaiming to the others. "Watch out!"

Too late, as Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy turned and attempted to follow Sora to dodge it, the large Heartless roared which sent out a gust of wind and as they were sent flying backwards screaming, the monster grabbed them with both claws and flew up into the air. Sora, Donald and Goofy were in it's right claws, while Riku and Mickey were in it's left as they struggled to pull themselves free despite the Heartless flying higher and higher into the sky, attempting to squeeze them and claim their hearts.

"Hey! Put us down!" Mickey yelled.

"Let go!" Sora grunted.

"We're gonna need help!" Goofy exclaimed in fear.

"Oh, let me handle this!" Donald grunted, and summoned his Staff once more, aiming up towards the Heartless's chest. Which, seeing how high up they where, Sora, Riku, Mickey and Goofy saw what he was about to do, which was pretty much a bad idea.

"Donald, no!" Mickey and Sora quickly cried out.

Unfortunately, Donald had already shouted, "FIRAGA!" and aimed it directly into the Heartless's chest, causing it to roar in pain before vanishing due to being weak against the heat and having been aimed directly it's weakest spot, which while it released the group, it left them hanging in the air for a moment to which the magician realized too late.

"Uh...oh...!" Donald muttered, before he and his friends all fell towards the ground below, screaming in panic.

They then landed right into the large soft pile of snow which broke their fall like many times before, and in front of Kristoff, Anna, Sven and Olaf who yelped before the reindeer skid to a stop before he, the two humans and the snowman ended up crashing into the group who just laid there, dazed for a moment. The other four stood there, stunned at the sudden appearance of their new friends.

"Tried to warn you..." Sora moaned after a few moments of silence. "...And we did it again."

"Sorry..." Donald replied, knowing that he almost gotten them killed by accident.

"Wow! I didn't know people could fly." Olaf exclaimed, which caught the attention of Sora's group who looked and were surprised and relieved to see them.

"They don't." Kristoff corrected, before asking the others. "How did you guys...?"

"Long story." Riku sighed, as he and his friends stood up while brushing himself off. "Let me tell you, it wasn't a fun experience."

It wasn't until Goofy noticed something different about Anna, like in the wrong way and his eyes widened in shock and worry. "Garwsh, Anna! You look half-frozen!"

When Sora and the others looked up to see what Goofy was talking about, their eyes widened as they realized that he was right. Anna's hair was turning almost completely white, her skin was slowly becoming icy blue, and she was shivering violently, looking all weak and really frozen.

"What happened?" Sora asked, worriedly.

"Anna was struck in the heart by Elsa's ice magic. If the ice isn't removed, she'll freeze forever." Kristoff quickly explained.

"What!?" Sora's group exclaimed in horror.

"Oh no! Is there anything we can try?" Mickey cried out, worriedly.

"Yeah, we learned from Kristoff's family that only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart." Olaf answered. "We're taking Anna take to Arendelle to her true love, Hans."

Hearing this made the hearts of Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy sink really fast as they shared a glance, uncertain how to break the news of Hans' betrayal and that he has taken Elsa captive. Plus they couldn't reveal that Hans has darkness within him due to the World Order.

"Um, about Hans...We saw him a short time ago, with a group of knights and the duke." Sora began, uneasily. "They have Elsa."

"W-what!?" Anna, Kristoff and Olaf shouted in shock.

"W-why? I told Hans to wait in Arendelle!" Anna cried out, wondering if they saw someone else. "A-a-are you s-sure it-it was h-him?" She asked while shivering.

"There's no mistake. It was definitely Hans. He was with the Duke on their way back, and Elsa was unconscious. We tried to follow but, that Heartless got to us before we could even go after them." Riku explained, before sighing. "To be honest, I kind of had a bad feeling about him, but I wasn't sure back then."

"But...Hans said that he loved me." Anna shook her head, unable to believe it.

"Hate to break it to you, but-"

"Wait a sec." Sora interrupted Kristoff, asking him in surprise. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Kristoff blinked, while Anna tilted her head to the side.

"Uh, I sorta assumed you guys were..." The spiky haired teen trailed off, awkwardly while he was gazing at both Kristoff and Anna who's eyes both widened as they shared a shocked glance, then looked away slightly.

"I just keep getting him into trouble trouble." Anna sighed, miserbly. "But, I guess I should've known better. I was wrong about Hans...and I was wrong about Elsa." She shivered violently again which made her friends gasp in worry.

"We'll worry about that later. Right now, we gotta get Anna someplace that's warm in the castle and keep Hans away from her. Who knows what he's thinkin', but it can't be anything good." Mickey informed them. He then turned to the nearly frozen Princess and said, "And I'm sure what Elsa did was an accident, and that she didn't mean to hurt you."

"M-maybe it's b-best if I just freeze." Anna muttered even as everyone quickly huddled up and made Sven run again, with Sora and the others quickly close behind. But hearing her say this made them look at her incredulously. Was she already giving up, after trying so hard to find her sister? "I don't even know what love is."

"That's not true!" Sora pointed out. "You love your sister, don't you? And she loves you too. That has to count, right?"

"Sora's right, Anna. Love is a special feeling that comes from the heart. It's about somebody caring about another and many others. It was your love that made you find the courage to find and bring Elsa home." Mickey explained in agreement.

Even Olaf, despite only having been born almost yesterday, added in agreement. "Yeah! Love is...putting someone else's needs before yours. Like say, what we're doing for you! Especially Kristoff."

Not only this made Kristoff blush, but Anna's eyes widen in shock and surprise. Still, both of them realized that Sora, Mickey and even Olaf all had good points.

"Right! Plus you and Kristoff seem so..."

"Perfect together!" Goofy finished for Sora, even as the gust of winds began to form strongly, which was making things rather difficult.

"Yeah, like me and Daisy!" Donald agreed.

"And me and Minnie." Mickey admitted.

"And while I won't say who else are the perfect match since one of them is right beside me, he and another girl who gave him her good luck charm are the good examples too, even though he's clueless." Riku added, with a hint of a smirk as he gazed into Sora's direction. His younger friend blinked in confusion, having absolutely no idea, even as both Donald and Goofy snickered in amusement, knowing what the silver-haired teen was referring to.

"Really?" Anna whispered, while Kristoff rubbed the back of his neck.

"Wow. You really don't know anything about love, do you?" Olaf remarked to the Princess, surprised.

Before the group could continue the conversation, they came a stop on the hill that overlooked the Kingdom and to their shock, a huge snowstorm blew quite close to the castle. A mixture of distress and darkness made Riku and Mickey share a concerned and firm glance.

"Elsa...!" Anna gasped, worriedly.

"Okay. Kristoff, Olaf, you two and Sven take Anna into the castle and keep her warm. We'll find Elsa and stop Hans from causin' trouble!" Mickey instructed.

"...Be careful." Anna whispered, shivering even more as the colder weather was only increasing the spell accidentally cast onto her. Everyone knew then that they had to hurry and fast.

"We will! You guys too." Sora promised.

With their goals in mind, the two groups split up slightly as Kristoff, Olaf and Sven hurried to carry Anna to the castle to keep her warm and figure out how to save her, while Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy hurried to find a way to save Elsa and stop Hans from reaching Anna.

* * *

Elsa was devastated of the destruction she had caused, seeing that Anna had been right. She had frozen the Kingdom into an eternal winter, and it was her own fault. She hadn't meant any of this to happen. In desperation and needing to return to her Ice Palace, she blindly broke free from her prison that she had thought the Duke had placed her in, and as she ran, her guilt and fears only caused a huge blizzard that was making things worse.

As such, she tried to run, but the coldness of her own blizzard was clouding her senses. The Queen had to stop short when out of the corridor of darkness that appeared in thin air, was a glaring Aqua, with the Way to Dawn Keyblade in hand. The portal disappeared as soon as she stepped out, stopping halfway from the frightened and stunned Elsa.

"Who are you?" Elsa demanded, taking a couple steps back.

"**Someone who lost everything, because of my own actions. Similar to what you have done.**" Aqua said darkly.

"What do you mean?"

"**I've seen what you have done from afar.**" Aqua stated, taking a couple steps forward. "**And your sister, the light of this world...your froze her heart with your ice, cold heart of the foolish light. Soon she will freeze into solid ice forever.**"

Elsa gasped softly, eyes widened in growing horror. "No..."

"**You betrayed her trust, and she was foolish to try and save you. Just as I failed to save my friends, because of lies! You're better off without her, but you destroyed her heart!**" Aqua continued, even though her former self was protesting, but was unable to break through the dark corruption.

"No..." Elsa whispered in guilt and sorrow, falling to her knees and gazed at the frozen floor beneath her. It was because of her that Anna was gone. As she did this, the blizzard soon came to a standstill, but it wasn't enough to make her even notice, believing the words Aqua had told her.

But as Aqua decided to complete one part of her dark mission and made to approach the distraughted Queen...

"Aqua?!"

Hearing Mickey's voice, Aqua stopped and turned around, just to see the King and the others stop as they arrived and saw what was going on. While the corrupted Keyblade Master turned fully glaring at the group, Mickey and Riku saw the devastation of Elsa, while Sora, Donald and Goofy were horrified beyond belief to see Aqua for the first time. They knew that the corruption had been bad given Riku and Mickey's description, but to see her like this...it reminded them so much of Xehanort, his younger self, the fake Ansem and Xemnas.

To make things worse, Aqua was about to kill Elsa who didn't pay attention or even acknowledge their presence.

"What are you doing!?" Riku exclaimed.

"**Teaching Elsa a lesson. You can't stop me now, and there's nothing you can do to set things right.**" Aqua answered, her voice almost as cold as the weather.

"You can't! It's not Elsa's fault that it came to this! We know who's really behind this mess!" Mickey protested. He still wanted to help Aqua, to save her despite that they still lacked both the Power of Waking and the Key to Return Hearts.

"**Even so, this should have been solved sooner. You shouldn't interfere with others. Don't get in the way.**" Aqua told the King darkly, as though it was their fault.

Something within Sora burst slightly, much stronger than a few times he felt before. It was somehow like Roxas, only it was...someone different. Not Xion, or himself. That same feeling when he heard of what happened to the former blue-haired woman who somehow looked familiar, like he'd met her before, but the feelings that were inside his chest...weren't his own.

"_It's not too late, Aqua!_" Sora blurted out, with a bit of a mixture of his own voice and another that sounded just like Roxas, but he knew that it wasn't his Nobody. Then, in an instant like when it appeared, the feeling vanished and Sora blinked in confusion, which also surprised Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy who glanced at him.

"Huh? What did..." Sora muttered, placing a hand to his chest. Had he really just said that? Sure he wanted to save Aqua badly and felt guilty for not finding the Key to Return Hearts yet, but that wasn't what he had in mind to say. In fact, he didn't even know what to think. But somehow...it was almost as though someone who wasn't Roxas or Xion did. What was going on?

Though it seemed to have some effect, because Aqua's eyes suddenly widened and for a split second or two, they changed from golden yellow to her original blue, then back again. But it seemed to be a little effect, because she sneered in fury, darkness forming around here while behind her and Elsa, Hans was slowly approaching upon seeing what was happening.

"**Thief of hearts...! You followed the path of lies!**" Aqua shouted as darkness flowed out from her body, and spread into a circle that formed in a dark sphere and creating a dark floor which Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku and Mickey saw too late and began to sink into. "**You will know what it's like...to lose everything over obeying commands!**"

Sora's group tried to fight the darkness, but were soon swallowed up as they muffled cries of alarm. When it stopped, the five of them looked around and saw that they were in some kind of dark twisted dimension of cold ice and darkness. In front of them was Aqua who had the Keyblade out and ready, glaring heatedly at them.

"Aqua, don't do this!" Sora pleaded, even though he forced himself to summon his Keyblade, as did Riku and Mickey, while Donald and Goofy brought out their weapons. He knew that they shouldn't be fighting Aqua, not without the Key to Return Hearts or the Power of Waking, but at the moment, there wasn't much choice. They could only hope that they didn't accidentally destroy her.

Aqua didn't listen, as she started off with flicking her wist and the group suddenly found themselves surrounded by several nearly invisible clones of herself. Shocked, Sora quickly blocked one of the clones' attacks with his Keyblade and pushed it back before dodge-rolling out of the way to avoid another when that charged forward and attempted to slice him in half, while the real Aqua sped forward to attack the King who was busy somersaulting out of the way before using Light to destroy the clone he was facing. Luckly Mickey saw this and blocked Riku's old Keyblade with the Kingdom Key W, before Goofy came the rescue and smacked another clone that nearly distracted him.

Mickey shoved Aqua back and the latter was forced to use a dark barrier spell to block Riku's attempts to slash at her, reflecting him back. He managed to flip and land in a crouch, but had to whirl around and block another cloned Aqua who attempted to use a dark Thunderaga at him. Donald responded by zapping it out of existence while the real Aqua instead focused on Sora who had just sliced one of the last few clones in half. At Goofy and Mickey's warning, Sora turned and blocked her attack with the Kingdom Key, nearly at his knees as he could feel just how powerful she was. It was no wonder Riku and the King had trouble with her in the Realm of Darkness and in another world.

Grunting, Sora struggled as he then used his Valor form which the light from it forced Aqua back, before he sped forward himself and struck her with several attacks, some that she blocked, others she was hit with as she cried out in pain, and as he made to use Firaga even though he didn't want to, Aqua cartwheeled out of the way and avoided this attack. She then responded by casting a Dark Firaga back, forcing Sora to block it, but was still hit and thrown backwards. He quickly flipped and landed safely on the ground, but winched as the burns hurt. Donald quickly used Curaga to heal him before he, Riku, Goofy and Mickey who had just finished the last of the clones rejoined Sora who stood up.

However, Aqua charged again and sent out numerous dark crystals that appeared out of nowhere and struck them with most. Sora and his friends cried out in pain before Mickey used his Pearl Magic to block some of them, and Donald using his Fireworks spell on the rest as much as possible, though they were all quickly running out of magic and the corrupted Keyblade Master wasn't showing much signs of slowing down. Riku slashed and blocked with the Braveheart before he and the others had to dodge more of Aqua's attacks when she came at them, clashing against Sora, Riku and Mickey, knocking back both Goofy and Donald when they attempted to help, and the duo hit the ground hard, almost knocked out.

When Aqua made an opening, Sora tossed his Keyblade at her and she was hit twice while crying out in pain, before he exclaimed. "Aqua! We're trying to save you!"

"It'll be okay!" Mickey added desperately.

"Aqua!" Riku, Donald and Goofy cried out.

Aqua was about to attack when, there she saw, the image of Ven slightly in front of Sora with the same pleading expression. She froze, her heart having an intensed sharp pain as her original self once again struggled to fight back. Groaning in agony, she let out a loud scream which began to cause the dimension she'd trapped herself and the others in to crack and become unstable. A single tear fell, before she spun around and once again escaped through a corridor of darkness, leaving behind the world of Arendelle.

"Aqua!" Sora cried out.

"NO!" Mickey screamed.

Before any of them or their friends could do anything else, darkness quickly engulfed them once more and despite their best efforts, they were very low on magic and couldn't heal themselves or each other. So they were left to shield themselves with their arms as they cried out before they lost consciousness...

* * *

At first he was uncertain of what happened, but as Sora began to regain consciousness, he found himself lying on the frozen floor before groaning. He pushed himself up while his friends also awakened, but they all gasped in shock and horror as, just in front of them, a grieving Elsa still crouched, and Hans having appeared in front of her, raised his sword for a killer's blow.

"Oh no!" Sora cried out in horror while his friends gasped, pushing himself up and ignoring the injuries from their battle against Aqua. But then suddenly, Anna came racing out of nowhere, almost completely frozen and ignoring the cries from Kristoff and Olaf, stood in front of her older sister and facing Hans without second thought.

"NOOO!" Anna screamed her last breath, holding out her hand which, along with the rest of her, the spell was complete and she became frozen solid in ice, much to everyone else's horror and dismay. Hans' sword shattered upon impact and one of the pieces hit the shocked Prince in the forehead and knocked him back, rendering him unconscious.

When Elsa saw this, her eyes widened in pure horror, shock and devastation. Seeing that her sister had been briefly alive, had now just sacrificed herself to save her, and her accidental spell had done it's work, she quickly stood up and tried everything to get a response.

"Anna!" The Queen cried out, but seeing that her sister was gone, began to cry, touching the face of the frozen form of Anna. "Oh, Anna... No, no, please... No."

Realizing that Anna was dead, Elsa nearly fell while hugging her, and cried. Kristoff, Olaf, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku and Mickey stood in grieving silence, having been too late to save the Princess who had frozen while saving her sister. It wasn't fair. It hadn't been Elsa's fault that this happened, and it wasn't Anna's either. The fact that Elsa had just lost the only family she had left ached their hearts, as they had just lost one of their new friends. They all lowered their heads at the loss.

"Anna..." Sora murmured, his voice choaked up in tears.

Then, as though miracle happened to bless them, Anna's heart seemed to warmed because her chest was glowing in warm light, which caught the attention of the five travelers who looked up, as did Kristoff, Olaf and Sven. Their eyes widened in awe as the ice melted away, thawing the Princess's body. She gasped a breath, and her hair also returned to it's original colour, much to Elsa's surprise when the oldest sister saw this as well.

"Anna's okay...!" Mickey whispered in relief. The light in her heart and Elsa's. Now he knew for certain, they were special lights, which was what brought Anna back to life.

Sora and the others smiled in relief and were about to race over to join in the celebration, when suddenly a sphere of darkness surrounded them again, making the group stop. To their shock, outside of the sphere, time seemed to have stopped.

"What!?" Sora gasped, only for him and his friends to grunt in anger and shock as Larxene appeared out of the darkness, giving them an evil grin before she turned around, gazing at both Elsa and Anna. Now she was absolutely certain about Elsa, but had been admittedly surprised that Anna too was another New Light. Who would've thought that even siblings can be Princesses of Heart?

It looked like Xion was right about Elsa, though.

"So, love has filled both their hearts with light." The female Nobody remarked, ignoring Sora's angry grunt as he cried out her name, continuing. "Two in one world...Definitely didn't see _that_ coming."

"So you're the one who wanted to hurt Elsa." Mickey grunted angrily, given that Sora had exclaimed Larxene's name.

"Me, hurt Elsa? You've gotta be joking, '_Your Majesty_'." Larxene scoffed, then grinned as she turned around again, and mocked. "Oh, whoops. Where are my manners? Hope I haven't offended you."

"Like you care about anyone." Riku scoffed in return.

Sora stepped forward, demanding the woman in front of them. "First Marluxia, then Ansem and now you. What is all this about!?"

"Oh, I see, so you bumped into Marluxia." Larxene chuckled, then frowned as she responded. "Then why am I explaining this again? I told you before: the New Seven Hearts. If you mess up and don't find your seven guardians of light, especially one to replace Aqua, we're gonna need another group to fall back on."

"Leave innocent people out of it!" Sora shouted. He didn't care what the Organization said, he wasn't going to let them hurt anyone else or use them against those innocent people's wills.

"Ooh, look at this tough guy. Such a big boy now. Well, maybe you should do your job and find the other guardians of light." Larxene mocked and told him. "Especially since Aqua can't quality for that title anymore. Her heart now belongs to darkness."

"We're not giving up on Aqua! We're gonna save her and bring her back to the light." Mickey added firmly. "So you'd better leave her alone!"

"Besides that, like you've found your thirteen. The King said you're one seeker of darkness short." Sora added. "Aqua's still fighting the darkness, or why else would she keep trying to avoid us?"

What Larxene said next sent chills down their spines and into their hearts. "Oh no, we're set. And if you didn't know any better, Aqua's probably saving her fight with you all for later."

"Huh!?" Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy gasped in shock. Could it really be true? They were already too late and that Organization XIII...had found their final vessel? Was it Xion? Aqua? Terra?

Larxene just gave them her best cruel smirk as she disappeared, teleporting away from this world and her task was done. The moment she did, the sphere around the group vanished and time returned to normal.

Sora and his friends stood there in a moment of silence.

"They have all thirteen?" Sora asked, feeling hopeless quickly form as realization dawned onto him. "Then if we don't find our seven and save Aqua, they'll go after Elsa and Anna. But Aqua's...saving her fight with us for the war?"

"No, Aqua's not one of the thirteen." Mickey firmly stated, even though he didn't sound as confident, but he refused to believed that his friend was already Xehanort's vessel. "Anybody who are would have a piece of Xehanort's heart within them."

"It'll be okay. Anna and Elsa are strong." Goofy reassured Sora.

"And we'll save Aqua and Xion, one way or another." Riku added.

"And now it's our turn!" Donald added.

Mickey nodded in agreement, "Don't worry, Sora. We'll just keep goin', and everybody will be okay here."

Sora couldn't help but smile. They were right. No matter how long it took, they'll save Aqua, Xion, Terra, Namine, Roxas and Ventus. To do that, they had to get the Key to Return Hearts to restore Aqua back to normal and figure out how to save Xion, as well as find out where Terra is.

"You're right. They have each other." Sora agreed, gazing back at the two royal sisters who were in each other's arms for the first time in many, many years.

"Anna?" Elsa whispered, and also, the light in her heart returned, brighter than ever.

"Oh Elsa." Anna whispered, and in happiness, the two sisters embraced. This was definitely the closest they'd ever been ever since they were children.

"You sacrificed yourself for me?" Elsa asked.

Anna smiled, and simply said, "I love you."

Hearing this made Olaf gasp in realization, as he figured out the true meaning of this and what he said earlier along with Sora and the others only increased Anna's chances in restoring herself as well as saving Elsa. "An act of true love can heal a frozen heart!"

"Love...of course." Elsa whispered, also realizing the final piece of the puzzle in how to control her powers. the warmth of the heart and the act of true love can thaw a frozen heart. All the years, she let fear control it, when she should've focused on the love she had, and that was enough to allow her to finally accept her magic and be with everyone she loved deeply.

"Elsa?" Anna asked, puzzled.

"Love." Elsa repeated, and with the swipe of her hand and by the dust of her magic, the ice and snow began to melt and disappear all around the kingdom and suprising everyone. The ice and snow soon formed into a giant snow flake when then vanished without a trace. The area around everyone returned to the warmth of summer, making everyone else that the eternal winter was broken. The floor that everyone was standing on was actually the deck of a ship.

"Yes!" Sora cheered happily.

"She did it...she overcame her fears." Riku whispered to himself, relieved. It reminded him of how he conjoured the darkness in his heart, overcoming his fears after the realization of how much his friends meant so much to him. He knew then, with the help of the Key to Return Hearts and maybe even Ven, that could be enough to bring Aqua back to the light. Terra, too.

Anna turned to her sister and beamed, "I knew you could do it."

"Hands down, this is the best day of my life!" Olaf said, as he soon began to melt due to the summer's heat, and while sad, he accepted his fate. "And quite possibly the last..."

Seeing this, Elsa hurriedly reached to Olaf and said, "Oh, Olaf! Hang on, little guy."

Using her magic, she then created a small cloud flurry above Olaf's body, restoring him to normal, a permament spell that will restore him anytime he was in the heat and that he can now live with them.

Seeing that he wasn't going to melt in Summer afterall, Olaf danced around happily, "My own personal FLURRY!"

"I'm really happy for ya's!" Mickey exclaimed with feeling, which Anna, Elsa and the others smiled at him and the rest of the group.

"Thank you." Anna and Elsa chorused, smiling at each other and giggled.

Elsa then turned to Sora, Donald and Goofy who stood there, before the young Queen muttered. "I'm sorry for shunning you out earlier. I know you were trying to help..."

"It's okay. No biggie. All that matters is that you're back home with your family and friends, and we're all friends too." Sora replied kindly.

The Queen smiled warmly, just as she and everyone else to hear Hans moan. When they all turned to face him, the Prince regained consciousness, standing up slowly. Growling softly, Kristoff was about to approach the evil Prince to punch him in the face, only to be stopped by Anna who shook her head, before moving towards Hans who, regaining his senses, was shocked to see Anna back to life and back to normal.

"Anna?" Hans gapped in shock, and, seeing that Summer had returned, suttered. "You're here? But I saw you having become frozen! Elsa froze you!"

"The only one who is frozen is you." Anna replied, glaring at the liar who tried to use her and kill her only sister. She then turned to seemingly walk away, only to whirl around and punched him squarely in the face.

Dazed and with a punch mark on this face, Hans stumbled backwards before falling over the ship and landed into the water with a big splash. Sora's group stood there, stunned in shock, disbelief and amazement, which then turned into amusement. Because Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kristoff, Olaf, and even Elsa, Riku and Mickey began to laugh while Anna smirked smugly at the wet Prince who was struggling to resurface and board the ship.

* * *

Not long after Hans and the Duke were boarded onto their ships to return to their countries to face punishment for their crimes, Sora's group bid farewell to Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf before they made their way through the now beautiful lush green forest of Arendelle to continue their own tasks, as well as discussing the next course of action.

"Sora, what about the Piece of Light?" Donald asked the spiky-haired teen.

"You had to remind me?" Sora sighed, his hands behind his head. With everything that's been going on in this world, he'd admittedly forgot about the main reason of coming here after facing Xion and Aqua.

"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll find it. Remember, Master Yen Sid said you have to sense it with your heart and then unlock it's hiding place with your Keyblade. Isn't that how you found the other three pieces?" Mickey reassured.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, but...I was thinking about Xion. I got no clue how her heart ended up inside mine. I don't even know how to bring her back or where she went in the first place. With Roxas, he's trapped in my heart too, and he needs a body to be himself again."

"Huh? How did you figure that out?" Riku asked as he and Mickey paused, which made three of their friends stop in their tracks too, near the mountain where the latter trio first met Elsa.

"Aw, don't worry." Goofy reassured Sora. "Ienzo's workin' on a way to get him free. I'll betcha he's got the perfect body all lined up."

"Yeah. Oh, hold on!" Sora blinked, realizing that another smart person was with them, and turned to Riku and Mickey. "So it's true that in order for us to recomplete Roxas, he needs a body, right?"

"Yeah, to put his heart in, just like you said." The King confirmed. "But how'd you figure that out?"

Sora, Donald and Goofy explained the things they learned in Twilight Town, which had Mickey and Riku think, before the latter two remembered something very similar that they experienced a long time ago...at least Riku did.

"Replicas..." The silver haired teen murmured.

"Huh?" Sora blinked.

"Well, replicas are basically human." Riku began.

"Uh, what?" Sora raised an eyebrow, dumbfonded.

"Oh yeah, you wouldn't remember." Riku shook his head, realizing his mistake and explained. "The previous Organization XIII developed 'replicas'; realistic vessels to place hearts in. They're so real, in fact, that you'd actually mistake them for people. And with hearts, replicas will become people."

Sora's eyes widened at this, as he asked with renewed hope. "Cool, but if we can get our hands on a replica, will Roxas look like himself when he's recompleted?"

"Yup. The replica takes form of the heart inside it."

"That's perfect!" Sora said in relief and happiness. Now they were getting really somewhere. All that was left was figuring out how to save Namine, Xion and Terra.

"Riku and I can head over to Radiant Garden and talk to Ienzo. He was in the Organization back then, so he might know more. Plus, I can sense that Aqua could be headin' there too." Mickey promised. "You fellas keep on findin' those keys."

"Great. Thanks." Sora nodded, before realizing something else and asked. "But, they're after Aqua, right? And they got Xion, too. Do you think they're after replicas too?"

"Well, they already made some for those who came from the past, because ya' can only go backwards when it comes to time travel and stay there for a while, because a version of you is already there waiting. But in the future, no one knows what will come." Mickey explained, remembering what he told Riku.

"So that means the Xion we met earlier is from the past, and somehow she lost her body, while heart is inside me. That still doesn't make any sense, though." Sora sighed.

Goofy thought deeply about this, before asking. "D'ya think the Book of Prophecies could be connected to somethin' like this?"

"The Book of what?" Riku asked, puzzled. He shared a glance with Mickey who shook his head, just as lost as the teenager was.

"Some book that Maleficent's looking for." Sora replied, only to gasp softly in realization and he, Donald and Goofy all held guilty and slightly sheepish looks, remembering that they haven't informed Riku or the King yet.

"Maleficent thinks that you might have it, yer majesty." Goofy explained apologetically.

Mickey blinked in confusion and shock. "Me? Well, gosh, I've never heard of anythin' like that until now. I do know that certain special people do have the power to see the future, but it's a very rare ability. And prophecies can be written in ancient text which can also be heard to find. But the book of prophecies, I don't even know why she thinks I have such a thing."

"Guess we forgot to mention it. We're sorry, Your Majesty." Donald muttered apologetically.

"Aw, it's okay." Mickey reassured, before frowning as he thought about the unusual book, until his eyes widened as he softly gasped. "But now that ya' mention it, that's gotta be why she wants the Datascape again, and thinks that I have the book of prophecies. She wants to scan it and bring whatever's in there into the real world!"

"What!?" Sora, Donald, Goofy and Riku gasped in shock.

"The bug that was main force of all of the bugs in Jiminy's journal. As Data-Riku warned us before Data-Sora and I defeated it, it had enough strength to try and enter the real world if it wasn't stopped. I know we can't access or enter the Datascape anymore, but if Maleficent uses that and whatever's in the book she's lookin' for, it's not anything good." Mickey explained firmly.

"In order words, whatever's data can become real too. Like the items from the Twilight Town Roxas was in for a while." Riku realized, brows narrowing as memories of having to take the pouch and the blue crystal from Roxas in the virtual Twilight Town via orders of Ansem the Wise forming in his mind.

"Um...wasn't there a library in Radiant Garden, too?" Sora asked, uneasily.

A tensed pause.

"There is, but I'm not sure if Ansem the Wise had anything like that, either. But maybe we should check into it, just in case." Mickey replied.

"Hey, maybe we can find another Piece of Light there too, while we're at it. And Leon and the other guys could use some help just in case." Goofy suggested, and the others nodded in agreement, realizing that he had a point.

"Yeah!" Sora agreed. "But first, the Piece of Light."

Just as the words left Sora's mouth, like three times in the previous worlds, Sora felt the familiar warmth inside his chest and like back in the two previous worlds, his heart began to glow in warm light, which alarmed both Riku and Mickey. It was then that he sensed the warm feeling close by. Gazing at the wall close to the path up the mountain, it glowed in warm light and Keyhole appeared.

Knowing what to do, Sora summoned the Kingdom Key and held it up towards the Keyhole. The beam of light shot out from the Keyblade and straight into the Keyhole which glowed brighter until something began to emerge from it. A glimmer of light that began to form and materalize into another silver-white key much like the ones in Twilight Town, Kuzco Empire and Kingdom of Corona, but with an emerald heart-shaped crystal attatched onto it on the top. Glittering in light, it floated down gently before it hovered in front of Sora who carefully picked it up and held it in his hand.

"The Piece of Light." Mickey whispered in awe.

"So that's how they're found." Riku added, finding himself impressed.

Sora nodded, holding it up high as he cheered. "That's key number four!"

"Now we only need to find three more!" Donald cheered excitedly.

"Ayhuck! We're almost there, fellas." Goofy said, excitedly.

The others nodded in agreement, and as Sora carefully placed the fourth piece of light into his pockets, it was agreed that they'd each return to their gummiships since they teleported separately. So Sora's group promised to meet up with Riku and Mickey in Radiant Garden before they once again split up to return to their ships and then flew away in slightly different directions to return to their next destination to learn more into the situation.

Yet things were only just going to become even more difficult and dangerous along the way, as their journeys are far from over.

* * *

_Meanwhile, back in the Keyblade Graveyard..._

The land was still as desolate and empty, just as it always had been. The rock pillars reminded Marluxia of the Castle that Never Was, only it's out in the open in the middle of nowhere. Such a perfect place for things to end and possibly begin anew, or just end all together. Depending on what will come should Master Xehanort gain the X-Blade and Kingdom Hearts.

Then, sensing a familiar presence appear on the rock pillar beside him, the pink-haired man barely cast a glance at her and just asked plainly. "So, why are you back?"

"Hmph. Nice way to greet your old partner in crime." Larxene scoffed, but still with a smirk none the less. Her sardonic tone had made Marluxia smirk briefly before it faded as she continued, genuinely curious. "So, why do you think the old geezer took us back? He must know we backstabbed the Organization when Xemnas was running it."

Her old companion shook his head, as he evenly told her. "Xehanort doesn't care about you or me. To him, we're nothing but empty husks. The old Organization was the same. Xehanort needs thirteen vessels to hold his essence."

"Husks? Nuh-uh. Not me." Larxene shook her head, clearly not too keen on the idea despite what she had said to the 'puppet' earlier in Arendelle. She then held a sinister idea as her grin deepened. "You up for another coup?"

The graceful assassin gave a sigh and a somewhat disapproving glance, even though he wasn't fully against the idea. Like the savage nymph, he wasn't keen on the idea of becoming Xehanort's vessel. Maybe if they did this right, now that Axel wasn't among them despite that they would still have to face him in the near future, given that he is one of the seven guardians of light, then they can double-cross Xehanort.

Before he could give his answer, however, their conversation was interrupted when another old comrade appeared on another rock pillar, scoffing. "Oh, please. You couldn't do it the last time. You gotta play it smart, like me."

There stood Demyx, the laziest member of the Organization, playing his sitar as he clutched it tightly in his hands, and Larxene wasn't impressed to see him again.

"What!?" Larxene shot back, in a mixture of disbelief and skeptism. "You're not smart! You're like the stupidest member of both Organizations in history. If not the stupidest guy ever."

"Well, you heard what Marly said." Demyx shrugged, as though not offended. "I don't have to be smart."

Larxene rolled her eyes as she listed off the things she thought of the young man beside her, her hands on her hips. "Or capable, or likeable, or attractive. A _ceral_ _bowl_ would make a better vessel."

"Whoa, now. You are way out of line." Demyx retorted, glaring at her. "I am extremely imposing...when I want to be. Which is, admittedly, almost never."

"Why haven't you gone to any worlds? Are you slacking? Or are you running off like a big baby that you are?" The blonde-haired woman scoffed.

"'Course not. I got benched."

"Huh?" Larxene blinked, raising an eyebrow. What was that idiot talking about?

"Saix brought Vexen on board, in order to use replicas, one of them that is already re-completed, the other, which is the failed prototype destroyed by Riku nearing it's completion as well." Marluxia reminded more calmly.

"Oh, right. And here I thought Vexen was a re-invited member too." Larxene smirked, snickering. "Good thing that loudmouth is only here for re-doing those windup toys and I gotta admit, that little 'girl' I was stuck with for a short time already has the brains to say something."

"Oh, no. The replicas are way more real than you remember." Demyx interjected, pouting childishly. "I mean, they stole my spot!"

"Of course they stole your spot. You're dumb as a brick, and the cute kid is smart for a new born baby." Larxene laughed, as though stating the obvious.

Demyx looked away, muttering sarcastically. "Har-dee har."

"That being said," Marluxia continued. "The protoype which was the Riku Replica is just that. The other, one who is the same created from Sora's memories, was real enough to join our ranks. And Vexen claims the new ones will be human in every way, if he ever finishes the other one."

"Well, that explains everything." Larxene rolled her eyes, before admitting somewhat sheepishly. "Though the thing is...I kinda told Sora and his nitwits that we're ready. My bad. Though I'm curious about is about that dumb girl Aqua. Why haven't we made her a member yet?"

"Because Aqua is caught in between, and it's only a matter of time to see who will claim her first. After all, one can't be too careful." The deep monotone spoke out of nowhere, and at the very tallest pillar appeared Xemnas, who, having heard part of the conversation, continued. "Let them believe as much."

"Ugh. _Xemnas._" Larxene groaned disdainfully. What was _he_ doing here now?

"If they think that we have all thirteen darknesses, then they will panic. And panic leads to a lack of preparation." Xemnas continued, ignoring the rude greeting.

"Yeah, totally." Demyx muttered in agreement.

Annoyed and already sick of the mullet-haired Nobody, Larxene pointed at him while asking one of the superiors that decided to butt into the conversation. "Why is this _thing_ a member again?"

"Hey, now! Pointing is rude!" Demyx scolded, offended.

"The first six members of the original Organization were all apprentices to Ansem the Wise, and the seventh and eighth members joined thereafter. The thirteenth member was Roxas, a Keyblade Wielder." Xemnas explained, then questioned the three below him. "So. What about you? How do you suppose I chose members nine through twelve?"

Larxene smirked. That had be an easy question to answer. "Because our hearts are uber powerful."

"Wrong." Xemnas responded, which made her frown. "You have been brought together for another purpose."

"What? So that we can rot away on the bottom rung?" Another familiar voice interjected, as the owner of it appeared via a corridor of darkness; he had short dirty blonde hair with a matching goatee, and an earring, wielding a set of cards. It was Luxord.

"_You're_ in too?" Larxene spoke in disbelief, before groaning half-sarcastically. Another irritating guy she didn't like. "What is this, Organization Rehash?"

"I happen to play an important role." Luxord replied, before gazing at Demyx's direction, adding. "Thus, I was not _"benched"_."

"You were listening?" Demyx asked, struming through the strings of his sitar, pouting. "So not cool, dude."

"One must hold one's cards as long as necessary." The gambler of fate chuckled, playfully flipping up his cards that he conjured up, before dismissing them. "Of course, there is another that may be a use to us; or rather two. Sephiroth is known for his mind games, and Cloud, who is similar to Riku, continuously attempts to ignore him despite what his heart holds."

"Who cares about that pretty-boy long-haired twit or that spiky-headed sourpuss? Asking them for help is like Xehanort's Heartless using that stupid black hag with a fat guy who is twice as dumb as _he_ is." Larxene retorted, gesturing at Demyx who glared at her again. "If not admittedly ten times."

"At least I don't go blurting things out constantly." Demyx pointed out.

"Alright, _fine_. I'll give you marks for that one." The savage nymph grudgingly admitted. She then asked Luxord. "But seriously, what _"Important role"_? Is it Sephiroth and Cloud that Xigbar mentioned? Or is it something else completely?"

"You'll just have to ask Xigbar that." Luxord replied. He then turned to Xemnas and questioned. "Now then, Xemnas, what is this _"purpose"_? You didn't invite us back for old times sake."

What Xemnas said this sent somewhat shockwaves and suspicions down the four of them. "You four are going to reveal your greatest secret: The Ancient Keyblade legacy that slumbers within you...and the location of the Book of Prophecies."

'_Hmm?_' Luxord thought, suspiciously.

'_What?_' Larxene thought, somewhat shocked and if she had a heart, she'd be either horrified or furious. Though she would rather prefer the latter. But seriously, did Xemnas really think she and the other three guys knew something about some dumb old book?

'_Wait, what?_' Demyx thought, already becoming terrified of the very idea. In retrospect, this wasn't such a good thing, and the Book of Prophecies...that was new to him.

Marluxia thought nothing, but he did give the chuckling Xemnas a suspicious and distrustful frown and glare. Something this had to be connected to his past, even if he remembered almost nothing about it.

Looks like things are about to become even more serious even for the four of them.

* * *

**A/N: Frozen Arc is finally done! The next chapter we'll return to Kairi and Lea in their illusionary world adventures. Still have to figure out which Disney World they will go to next, though and that's gonna take a while before we can return to Radiant Garden.**

**See you later, fellow readers!**


	34. Chapter 33: A missing Friend

**Author's note: After struggling on which world Kairi and Lea should be visiting next, I finally settled for what you're about to explore, which is another familiar world from the past, only an illusion. Though after Radiant Garden, the next several worlds for both Riku and Mickey, and Kairi and Lea will get more difficult to figure out since I already have Sora's group sorted out.**

**But for now, let's continue onward!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 33: A missing Friend.

_Back in the Timeless Realm..._

On a hill in a peaceful looking field and forest in an early morning of the first day of Autumn, everything seemed like nothing could possibly go wrong. But oh, were the residents of this world, illusion or not, were in for a great, big surprise. Because at that moment, Madam Mim had just arrived with a small orb covered in dark magic in her hand, and a book which titled "Winnie the Pooh" on the front cover, with not only a yellow small stuffed bear but also Sora on the front cover during his second journey held in another.

Because unaware to Merlin, the witch had secretly stolen the book, but only for a few minutes to do what she needed to do and then she'll return it without anyone else, especially that boy Sora, knowing.

"This will make things more difficult for those two miscreants." The snickered to herself, before she use her magic to have the book and the orb float above her. She then merged the two together slightly which then was covered in purple light and darkness.

The next thing that happened, a ripple of disorientation in space and time filled the air from it and spread through out the entire land, spreading like a wave of time and darkness with various images merging together as one as though two dimensions were meeting. Yet the people were none the wiser as, via this being an illusion, Madam Mim had the power to mess things up here.

Even with memories. Once that was done, the book, returning to normal with light, floated back down into Mim's hands as she cackled evilly, before teleporting herself away to return it to where it came from.

Despite that it will soon be learned in the Realm of Light.

* * *

_About an hour or two later, back with Kairi and Lea..._

It hadn't been long for the two Keyblade Wielders in training since their adventure in the illusion of Prankster's Paradise, and while their minds were onto the situation that was happening back in the Realm of Light, especially since they had come to a conclusion that the new Organization XIII were after the girl Lea struggled to remember, by gaining some samples of memories from him and Sora, and in that extension, Roxas, the redhead and Kairi knew they couldn't do a thing to help until they finished their task here in the Timeless Realm.

So, despite worrying about Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy, and hoping that they at least got closer to saving Aqua as well as finding the Key to Return Hearts, the two of them emerged from the entry point into their third illusionary world. When they did, Kairi and Lea found themselves walking along a dirt path before pausing. It was leading through the area like the trail connecting the school back Destiny Islands as Kairi realized, but it looked more like a the forest similar to the one in Twilight Town, as Lea had thought.

Though it didn't seem like anything could go wrong here...wherever they were.

"This place looks very peaceful and calm." Kairi remarked, smiling softly while holding out a hand to catch one of the leaves that gently floated down, and landed flat onto her palm. It was a dark colour that had just started to fade, which told her and Lea that they arrived in a world during the beginning of Fall.

"Kind of reminds me of both Twilight Town and our training ground, only without buildings and..." Lea trailed off when he spotted something in a very short distance from where he and his friend were standing. "Hello? What do we have here?"

"Axel? What is it?" Kairi blinked, wondering what her friend was seeing as he walked off to investigate. As she watched him before following, what the taller redhead had spotted made her even more confused as she quirked an eyebrow. An enormous, wide tree was planted less than ten feet from the log; its branches were shedding their leaves, like the others all around them.

Built directly into the trunk before them was a door with a rectangular-shaped frame crafted from wood. Above the doorway was a sign bearing the name, "_**Mr. Sanders**_" in golden letters. To the left of the sign was a little, blue-tinted bell with a shoelace.

Between the bell's string and the door was another sign nailed attached to the framework by a rusted nail. It read, "_**RNIG ALSO**_"

"Am I imagining this, or does this Mr. Sanders guy have terrible spelling and hand writing?" Lea questioned with a quirked eyebrow. Whoever this Mr. Sanders was, he certainly could use a few lessons. He then caught the scent of something sweet filling up the air and sniffed softly. "And do you smell something sweet?"

Kairi sniffed the air softly as well, realizing that he was right. "It smells like honey. But, I don't see any. Maybe Mr. Sanders-wait a minute...I think I know where we are."

"You do?" The red haired man asked, now a little bit suprised. Does Kairi recall this place? From Sora's adventures, perhaps? Or Riku's? Because certainly she wouldn't have been here before, even in the past two years.

The Princess of Heart glanced around their surroundings more carefully, thinking deeply. Something about this was very familiar, yet it wasn't from what she experienced. More like what she heard, and honey was a rare thing to come by. Sora did mention something about honey, and how a small bear loved it and never stopped...

"I think...we're in the Hundred Acre Wood." Kairi finally murmured, her eyes lighting up in realization.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a sec! How do you know?" Lea quickly said, stunned as Kairi somehow knew this place.

"Sora told me and Riku before the Mark of Mastery Exam." The red haired girl replied, explaining. "He went into this world within a book where he made friends with everyone there, how he had to find the missing pages to restore it twice; once to find the rest of residents, the other to restore the memories."

"...Sounds like how Namine had to be careful with restoring Sora's memories." The former Organization member stated, placing his hands on his hips. Still, to be in a world, or at least an illusion 'alternate' version of one that Sora had been into, like with how Terra, Ven and Aqua had all been into the illusion world of Enchanted Dominion, that was literally inside a book...Wow.

Before Kairi could ask Lea about what he said, the sound of someone screaming filled the air and alerted the two. When they looked ahead, they saw a yellow small bear in a red t-shirt, carrying a blue small pot with a long piece of paper dribbled in something sticky in his arms, and was running away from a group of Heartless that were chasing after him.

"Oh bother! Help!" The bear screamed out, running past both Kairi and Lea who, after a brief moment of shock to see a toy bear talk and run, moved out of the way to let him pass, before turning to face the Heartless, summoning their Keyblades.

"We got this!" Lea told the small bear who already ran up ahead for a place to hide. Kairi nodded in agreement as they glared at the Heartless of different kinds that stopped when they noticed the two Keyblade Wielders.

Kairi started with using a Blizzard Spell on the Soldier Heartless that attempted to claw at her, but was instead frozen. She thrust the Destiny Embrace Keyblade at it as hard as she could a few times while dodging another Heartless that attempted to finish her off almost immediately, but was instead destroyed as soon as she finished off her original target, and ducked when it tried to stab her with a drill as it was a Drilling Heartless. After dodge-rolling out of the way while the Heartless drilled the ground, sending dirt and tiny rocks flying everywhere, Kairi summoned her Flower Burst at it's head, which destroyed almost instantly, much to her surprise, but was forced to fight more Heartless before she could think of what she did.

Lea sent out a huge flames of fire at the Flower type Heartless that were normally seen in places like the Deep Jungle and Wonderland. Though it did sent out several icky attacks at him and got him on the arm, causing him to wince before dodging another attack while ignoring the pain, though he realized it was poison. He quickly summoned another Fire Wave at it before taking out an antidote and jugged it down to cure it before he'd ended up poisoned completely. He and Kairi were then both surrounded by pottery Heartless that attempted to trap them inside themselves, but he thought quickly and focused on his power on a special attack he'd been practicing with and decided that now was a good time to put it to good use.

While Kairi chanted Light again and swung her Keyblade at one of the Pot Heartless, smashing it into both pieces and darkness, Lea then unleashed his attack, his Keyblade bursting into flames and splitting into two, forming into two familiar Chakrams but covered in fire and like he would back before he started using his Keyblade, he swung them out into different directions. The Chakrams flew across and smashed through other Heartless in an amazing hit. By the time his weapons returned to him and reverted back into the Flame Liberator, most of the Heartless had been defeated, with Kairi finishing up the last two with her Flower Burst, followed up with a Thunder Spell.

"Wow! Axel...When did you learn to do that?" Kairi asked, dismissing her Keyblade and gazed at her companion in awe.

"Been workin' on it, like with your spell. I uh...thought that if I couldn't use my old weapons by themselves, thought I'd trying something different with the Keyblade." Lea replied, somewhat embarrassed and surprised himself that his new skill actually worked.

"Well, I think it was amazing." Kairi complimented. "And it saved the both of us."

The teenage girl might have imagined it, but she could've sworn that she'd just seen his face turn to a slight shade of pink as he looked away, trying to avoid eye contact. Even though she had a feeling that Lea didn't take compliments of being nice or having any that often, the way how he looked right now was adorable. It reminded her of how Riku would get when it came to girls. Sora, too.

"But still...Sora said that he didn't encounter any Heartless here. There had never been anyone wanting to cause trouble." She continued as her smile faded into that of grave concern.

"Then I guess it's a different story. Remember, this is an illusion of what Sora told you." Lea shrugged. Whatever caused the Heartless to appear in a peaceful world that the only problems it had was missing a few pages, he had a feeling that it was utterly different and somehow darkness got here.

'_...Could it be you, Isa? Or did Xehanort send in another to try and get to us?_' The redhead thought to himself, as he then realized that maybe it was the Organization's doing. But...why would they come and bother them in this world when they should've been stealing the book in the Realm of Light to get to Sora?

By then, the bear returned once he saw that the coast was clear, and greeted the two travelers who turned to face them. "Why, thank you, somebodies I don't know. Those funny-lookin' Jaguars suddenly came...like ghosts."

"Jaguars?" Kairi and Lea both chorused, sharing a confused look before deciding that, since this place never had the Heartless before, and even though Jaguars were never mentioned either, they figured that maybe someone or something had caused the imaginations of the bear and everyone else to become real in this place, so they decided to play safe and shrugged, turning back to the bear.

"You're welcome. But, why did they chase after you?" Kairi replied.

"I don't know." The bear shook his head. "I was on my way to my friend Piglet's house, when the Jaguars tried to gobble me up."

He then held a thoughtful look and glanced at the honey jar in his hands, adding. "Or maybe they were after the honey pot I found this morning." Before realizing what he said and gazed up at the two, asking. "Excuse me, but um...is this yours?"

"Uh, no. We only just got here like a few minutes ago." Lea shrugged. "You said you found it this morning, right? Do you know where it came from?"

"No. I was going to ask my very best, best friend Christopher Robin where it came from. But when I went to our favorite tree, he wasn't there. That's why I was going to Piglet's house to tell him." The bear explained.

'_Christopher Robin? I guess this boy must be this world's version of Sora, because he never mentioned meeting anyone of that name. But he's not here? Could that be why the Heartless are around? Was he kidnapped?_' Kairi thought to herself, and given that this was an illusion of the book her best friend went into numerous times, it made sense.

Whatever it was, it sounded like trouble, and Kairi knew there and then that she and Lea had to solve the mystery. The teenage girl then offered, "Do you want us to help you solve this mystery? We're not doing much anyway."

Lea nodded in agreement, knowing that they might as well while they're here. Plus he had actually thought along the same lines as Kairi, even if he still had the Organization in his mind and despite that it didn't make any sense, it was still a good idea to be careful.

"Why, thank you! You're so kind." The bear said happily, before introducing himself. "I'm Winnie the Pooh; Pooh for short. Who are you?"

"My name's Kairi." Kairi replied kindly.

"And I'm Lea: But you can call me Axel. Got it memorized?" Lea added, while saying his catch-phrase.

"Hello Kairi and Axel." Pooh greeted.

"So, where do you think we should start looking?" Kairi asked.

"Perhaps Piglet might know. His house is not to far from my house." The bear answered, pointing at the one that had the sign with the terrible spelling, which confused Kairi and Lea as they glanced at the one with the 'Mr. Sanders' sign on it. Did that mean that everyone here didn't know how to spell? Strange.

Deciding to worry about the spelling problem later, the two Keyblade wielders nodded before they followed Pooh across a wooden bridge built over a creek on the right end of the giant hill. From there, they proceeded down another dirt path through other parts of the forest. Along the way, both Kairi and Lea kept the bear safe from a few more Heartless that appeared, which increased their concerns of what was happening in this world.

It didn't take them long before the trio arrived at yet another clearing in the woods, where another extremely tall tree at the center of the area. Like the last one, a wooden doorway was positioned in the middle of the trunk, though it was a tad bit smaller in size. Around ten feet from the door stood a medium-height sign bearing the words, "_**Trespassers Will-**_"

Pooh immediately went up to the door and knocked on it urgently. "Piglet! Piglet! Christopher Robin is gone!"

As he called out to his friend inside, suddenly acorns began raining down and bonked him on the head, as he tried to repeat what he said. One bonked onto Kairi's head, and another on Lea's head.

"Ow! What the...?" Lea grunted, as he, Kairi and Pooh all looked up. To their surprise and confusion, a really, really small animal in pink, wearing a magenta jumpsuit with black stripes, climbing up the very top of his house. The two Keyblade Wielders correctly guessed it was Piglet, even before Pooh had called out to him.

"Why, Piglet. What are you doing...up there?" Pooh called up to his smallest friend.

"I'm doing just what Christopher Robin said I should do." Piglet replied, reaching to the thinnest tree branch carefully. "I am going to look my fear of heights right in the face and conquer it!"

Just as he said this, the tree branch then snapped underneath him, and he was sent forward. Thankfully the branch didn't break completely, but Piglet had to hold on for dear life as he was suddenly facing the ground down below and all the courage he mustered up this morning was all but gone.

"That is...if it doesn't conquer me first!" He whimpered, seeing how high he was. Terrified and finding himself in big trouble, Piglet quickly held onto the branch while covering his eyes with his hands and screamed out. "_Christopher Robin!_"

"The poor thing!" Kairi exclaimed, feeling terrible for the poor terrified animal. She remembered Sora mention that Piglet had a fear of heights, and he failed to conquer it just when he was so close.

"Are you looking for him too?" Pooh called up, worriedly.

"...I feel sorry for that little guy." Lea murmured. Not the best way in conquering the fear of heights, but he had to give Piglet credit for trying at least. Before anyone could say anything more, a blur of movement came flying into the area, knocking straight into the redhead who cried out in alarm at the sheer force. He was thrown onto his back in a matter of seconds. Perched on top of him was a tiger with orange and black stripes, a spring-y tail, and a large smile on his face.

"Hiya, pal! I'm Tigger! T-I-double-guh-er! That spells Tigger." Tigger greeted.

"Whoa! Where'd you come from?" Lea asked, wide-eyed in disbelief in shock at not only the spelling of Tigger's name, but also the fact that the tiger just knocked him over without even trying. Beside him, Kairi was also surprised, but he could see that she was trying to hide her giggles behind her hand.

"I come from anywhere! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" Tigger said, before getting a closer look at Lea, and murmured. "Well, now. I don't think I've ever seen _you_ before."

The redhead groaned, "That's 'cause we only just met."

"Oh, hello, Tigger." Pooh greeted before Lea could continued. "You just bounced one of my new friends, Axel." He then murmured in confusion, "Or was it Lea?"

'_Oh, great. He forgot what to call me already?_' Lea grumbled in his mind, as Tigger glanced back and forth between him and Pooh before leaping off the former.

"Excuse me, Tigger? Why do you bounce so much?" Kairi asked curiously and politely, though she remembered Sora mention about his bouncing friend as well.

"Why?" Tigger replied, "Because it's what Tigger's do best! Anyway, what's up?"

Another acorn then bonked him on the head, and he blinked in confusion on where that came from. He got his answer when Pooh pointed upward. "Piglet is up."

When Tigger spotted Piglet dangling from the same twig and the latter calling out for help, the tiger called up to him while Lea stood up. "Oh relax, Piglet, Ol' Pal. There's no difference between plunging ten thousand feet to the jagged rocks below and...tumbling out of bed."

A sudden wave of calmness washed over, as Piglet removed his hands from his eyes, asking hopefully. "Oh! Really?"

"Why, sure!" Tigger laughed, before adding. "Except for the splat at the end they're practically similar."

Lea facepalmed himself, groaning again in disbelief while Kairi placed both hands over her face, shaking her head. How could Tigger say that if it was only going to make things worse?

'_Oh, yeah. That'll really make the poor kid calm._' Lea thought to himself in a deadpan expression. Just as predicted it, Piglet once again became terrified when he heard that part.

"_**CHRISTOPHER ROBIN!**_" He screamed even louder, once again covering his eyes in horror.

"We have to do something, quick!" Kairi cried out, gazing up at Piglet again.

"Hmmm...Trapped in the clutches of terror, eh?" Tigger thought as he rubbed his hand along the bottom of his chin after careful analysis of the situation, then declared calmly with excitement in his eyes. "Well, I guess I'd better bounce up there and get him down."

He then declared while preparing himself. "Stand back! This gonna be a world record's bounce!"

Without another word, Tigger hopped onto his tail before launching himself clear into the branches of the tree. When Piglet was within his grasp he reached out, only to miss by a few inches. He tried again, and the second time shook the ground slightly with more acorns raining down. Tigger ended up missing even as he waved his arms as high up as he could, and tried for a third time, but was still a few inches too far. As he descended down below, the tiger looked annoyed.

"What's the matter with you?" Tigger asked, glaring at his tail. "Being a second-rate bouncer is not what Tiggers like best!"

But as Tigger bounced for the fourth time and sending more acorns raining down, the branch Piglet was on finally gave way and snapped while the latter still had his eyes shut and covered. Tigger had no way of moving out of the way as he neared Piglet and the two ended up crashing into each other in mid-air, before they fell all the way back down and landed in a huge crash that somehow rocked the entire area. Both Kairi and Lea nearly lost their balance before it came to a stop.

Before either one could even say anything, acorns began raining from above. In a matter of seconds, Kairi, Lea, Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger found themselves shoved along by the nuts forming a tidal-wave of acorns flowing through the trees. In a short time, the flood of Acorns headed into the open fields before Kairi's group ended up accidentally flowing into a yellow and white rabbit with thin arms and a white fluffy tail, as he'd been holding a book while standing next to a carrot in his garden.

He yelped in shock while being unexpectedly carried along, while Pooh greeted him. "Hello, Rabbit!"

"Pooh! What is going on?" Rabbit exclaimed, quickly becoming terrified as he held on for dear life. He didn't get an answer as everyone was too focused on trying to get out of this mess. So he just began screaming as all six of them flowed towards a small grey donkey with a black mane, light-grey muzzle, droopy eyes, long ears, and a tail with a pink bow nailed onto his backside who was assembling a pile of sticks into a tent-shaped like house.

Unfortunately for him, the donkey found himself rammed into by the flood of acorns, which swept him straight into his house. As the wave of nuts finally dispersed and came to a halt, he was in an awkward position with the sticks.

"...Easy come, easy go." He sighed, before dropping in a short drop on the ground, with the sticks cluttering all around him.

Kairi climbed to her feet while dusting off traces of grass her outfit with her hands, then looked around as she saw that Lea was sprawled on his back with Tigger on his front next to the man, Piglet shaking his head, and Pooh standing up with the honey pot and was speaking to Rabbit who tried to get up, but due to the Acorns underneath him, kept on rolling and falling in repeated attempts.

"Excuse me, Rabbit. Would you happen to have a...um...a um...Christopher Robin about you?" Pooh asked.

"No! I haven't seen him!" Rabbit exclaimed as he tried to stand up again, but was running along the acorns before falling again and kept on doing it until finally the last traces of it were gone.

During this time, Pooh sighed in disappointment. "Bother. He isn't where he should be, and wasn't where we were...and seems to be not anywhere, if he could tell me, who's honey this is." He muttered, gesturing at the pot in his arm.

"Well, it isn't mine, and I don't have time! It's harvest day, says so in the book!" Rabbit snapped, before ranting on while kicking the acorns. "I have carrots to cut! Pumpkins to patch!-AH!"

He yelped when Tigger snatched the pot and bounced onto Rabbit in a single blur, while the tiger declared happily. "Well, of course it's mine! It's got my name written all over it!"

But as Tigger dipped his paw into the sticky, sweetness of honey and shoved into his mouth, he paused when the taste hit him. He then realized what it really was and exclaimed. "Honey!? Yuck! Ptooey! Bleah! Tigger's do not _like_ honey!"

"I guess he's not found of sweets." Kairi whispered, seeing the reaction.

"Too bad he wouldn't like Sea-Salt Ice Cream either." Lea muttered in agreement.

Kairi nodded in agreement, but even so, she couldn't help but feel like something was wrong here. If no one knew where Christopher Robin was, then maybe the Heartless might have something to do with it. It reminded her of the times of when Sora had to go through the dangers of trying to find her and Riku when the Islands fell into darkness, and how she, with the unexpected help of Axel, went out looking for both of them, and he'd been looking for Roxas as well or at least to get him back.

She then froze, as another thought occured to her. What if the Heartless had something to do with the girl that only Roxas remembered? Even though Kairi had been told that Pooh tended to be forgetful, she remembered that the real Pooh lost his memories when the pages were taken out of the book the second time and Sora was the last to be remembered. Could Christopher Robin be on the same risk of vanishing and then slowly being forgotten? Or was this something else entirely? Sora was forgotten but was remembered when his memories were restored. Pooh's memories of everyone was restored as well.

Then there was that girl Lea was struggling to remember, and was now in danger with the Organization. Kairi gazed low to the ground, feeling a bit of an ache in her heart, before she shook her head to snap out of her gaze. She'd have to worry about that later, because right now Pooh needed help.

"If only I could Christopher Robin about this honey. But where could he be?" Pooh sighed, picking up the pot once more. It wasn't until Kairi noticed someone in front of it and, curiousity getting the better of her, she approached to take a closer look. She then realized what it was and her eyes lit up. It was a piece of paper.

"Look! There's a note. Maybe that will give you the answers." Kairi gestured, pointing at it, but when she looked more closely, she flinched a little as she also realized that it was covered in honey.

Pooh looked and pulled the paper and lit up enthusiastically. "A note! Thank you, Kairi! That is very clever! I'll just read it."

However, as he stared at it, his smile faded as he remembered something else. "Or would...if I could." Pooh then looked at Rabbit and asked, "Could you read it please, Rabbit?"

Rabbit held a deadpanned look, before taking the note and declared proudly, "Don't worry, Pooh Bear. _I_ can read it with my eyes closed!"

"...Okay, seriously. How can you read with your eyes closed? No one can do that." Lea pointed out, skeptically.

The bunny ignored the redhead and cleared his throat and began reading. "It says, now, _'Ih-egg-weigh-neigh, eg-no, um-hum, ooo-foo, be-gira, see-laa, ou-moo-voow, boo-goo, be-mum, ber-bum, na-neela, goo-la...'_"

He paused before looking up at the puzzled and dumbfounded expression everyone else were giving him. Kairi and Lea both shared a glance, and it was then that no one knew how to read in this world. Then again, maybe it was because of the honey that made things more difficult.

"Well, I could've read it if Tigger hadn't bounced me so." Rabbit said defensively.

Lea took that moment to get a closer look at the paper and sighed. "The main problem is that the note's covered in honey it's makin' it harder to read."

"Do you know of anyone who can read it?" Kairi asked.

* * *

_Ten minutes later..._

Kairi and the others arrived at the small house perched on top of a tree owned by a brown and white Owl who greeted them unhurriedly and once he got the story, he began deciphering the note with a pair of tweezers and a magnifying glass. The teenage girl was sitting in an arm chair with her hands on her lap, politely patient while wondering if the note will give them any answers of what is happening. Lea was standing by her right, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed with a mixture of boredom and exasperation.

To her right, was Pooh who was sitting on a blue stool, next to Piglet who was also on a stool with Eeyore the donkey standing there as well. Tigger leaning upon the chair Rabbit was sitting in, apparently daydreaming. The latter was drumming his fingers on the chair's armrest. All seven of them were waiting as Owl was reading the note.

"Lar...Jar...?" Owl murmured, and as he carefully pulled the sticky honey off the word, he chuckled in realization. "Oh! Far!"

He then began to read the letter, apparently having pulled off all of the honey. "_'Dear, Pooh'_, It begins. _'Worry...about...me. I'm...going...far away...Help!'_ And the note is signed..._'Cramfobbin Bobin'_?" He looked more closely at the letters, and then corrected himself in realization. "Oh! _'Christopher Robin'_!"

"Christopher Robin!?" Rabbit exclaimed, shocked. He, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore all leaped up and approached Owl, as the former demanded. "Wait! What-how! Who authorized it!?"

"Where will we get the strength to go on without him?" Tigger began to sob, hugging Rabbit too tightly.

Kairi and Lea both stood up straight in shocked, sharing another glance. This didn't make any sense. If Christopher Robin was going far away, why would he ask for help? Or was it a help letter and the Heartless were...or could it be Organization XIII? But why...? Was it to lure both of them into some kind of trap because of Sora's connection with the real Hundred Acre Wood? To lure Sora in? Somehow they doubted it, but one couldn't be too careful or careless.

"Christopher Robin?" Pooh's sad murmur brought everyone back to reality, and as they turned, they all saw the bear gaze out of Owl's window, where the hill top with the tree he usually hanged out with the boy in perfect view. "My very best, best friend? It simply cannot be! Whatever will I do?"

Kairi's heart broke to see Pooh in such a way, and even Lea looked saddened. Both of them suddenly saw themselves in Pooh's place, and for good reasons; Kairi for having to wait for Sora and Riku to come home and having decided to go out to find them herself. Lea for losing Roxas and Isa, and the girl he tried to remember. Still, the Princess of Heart may not know Pooh very well, but she knew what it was like, and she wanted to do something, anything, to try and cheer him up.

Even though cheering others up was Sora's forte, Kairi felt she had to do the same. So she approached Pooh and knelt down on her knees, saying comfortingly. "He couldn't have gone too far. I'm sure he'll come back."

"You really think so?" The bear asked, gazing up at her.

"Yup. I know what it's like, because I had to wait two of my best friends to come home, too. Though eventually, I had to go and find them and we got back together." The teenage girl replied.

"And I'm lookin' for my best friends. So, I know what you're goin' through." Lea added as he approached as well, refering to Roxas, Isa and the black haired girl.

"Y-you know, Pooh Bear. They could be right." Piglet strode towards them, and with a timid smile, continued. "And perhaps, u-until Christopher Robin comes back... I-I-I might be your very best, best friend?"

"Yeah, and when Piglet gets sick of ya..." Tigger sobbed, and pulled Eeyore into a tight hug, concluding. "We can take over."

Pooh smiled comfortingly, grateful for such kind support from his friends, both old and new. "That's very kind of you. But you already _are_ the very best of my best friends." Then peered down to Piglet. "You see, you and I can do anything."

Though just as it appeared, his smile faded back to a sad expression as he sighed. "But only Christopher Robin and I can do...Nothing."

'_That's true. There are certain things best friends can do with each other._' Kairi thought to herself, still feeling sad for Pooh. She remembered, when she forgot about Sora for a while, she refused to go to the Play Island until she remembered him and that he'd come home. It wasn't the same with him or Riku. She then thought about how Aqua had been trapped in the Realm of Darkness for twelve years, how it effected her so much that, according to Riku and King Mickey, it had driven her to become consumed and now take her rage out on everyone else.

Could true loneliness really do that? Kairi couldn't think of anything worse than being on your own. In fact, the very thought of it terrified her, especially after years without anyone to talk to or be with.

"Aha!" Owl's voice startled her and everyone else, causing them to turn to the bird as he announced. "I've discovered where he went!"

"You have? Where is he?" Kairi asked as she stood up. She and the others waited anxiously as Owl translated the section he believed to contain the location of where Christopher Robin had gone. When he did, he gasped while dropping his magnifying glass in shock and horror.

"Oh my!" He softly exclaimed, and before everyone knew it, Owl darted around, closing every curtain, slamming all the shutters, and blockading the front door.

"What is it, Owl? Where it is?" Pooh asked, as his expression of concern was shared by everyone else.

"Somewhere bad, I'm afraid!" Owl replied.

"Is it really that bad?" Kairi asked, worriedly. If it caused Owl to be very worried, it had to be.

"On the scale of one to ten," Owl began, closing the last of the curtains and the entire room was filled with blackness. "It's _not good!_"

'_Is it really that bad that he had to close everything up like this?_' Lea thought to himself, skeptical and concerned about the situation. By then, the room was lit up, but dimly as Owl had lit up a candle.

"He has gone to 'S-C-H-O-O-L'..._HUH!_ **Skull!**" Owl gasped in alarm with eyes wide in terror.

An awkward moment of silence.

"Huh?" Kairi tilted her head to the side, utterly confused. That didn't sound right, and though maybe it was because no one really knew how to spell and that Christopher Robin really was in grave danger and needed to be rescued, especially with the Heartless around, her doubts of the boy being in trouble only grew, which made her torn.

Lea on the other hand just stood there with a blank expression, and before he could stop himself, the redhead burst out laughing to the point of tears which made everyone else gaze at him in confusion.

"Axel, this isn't funny!" Kairi scolded, more than a little miffed at him for laughing in this situation.

"S-sorry." Lea breathed, still snickering in disbelief, wiping away a tear while placing his other hand to his stomach. "It's just...since when was _Skull_ spelled the same way as _School_?"

"What is school?" Rabbit asked, blinking.

"It's place where people go to learn. Like, how to read for example." Kairi explained and while she had thought that Lea had a point, she sighed. "But then again, I'm not so sure if Christopher Robin at this Skull place or not."

Calming down and his expression slowly turning serious, Lea sighed. "That's true. Plus, with the monsters around, sounds to me like the kid's in serious trouble. Only way to find out is whether he went to either this 'Skull' or just went to 'School, especially since the latter is a safe place. Just sometimes boring."

"Well, perhaps. But I have a feeling that he went to Skull, and judging the context, it's the most forbidden and far away place!" Owl stated.

"If that is true, then we have to find him and make sure that he's safe." Kairi declared, and Lea nodded in agreement.

"Kairi's right. We must help Christopher Robin! Help him get back, to here, and us!" Pooh announced full heartedly. Piglet, very nervously, nodded in agreement, as did Rabbit, Tigger and Eeyore.

Hearing this made Owl very pleased with everyone's courage. "Then it's a quest, is it! A-ha! That's the spirit! But beware, it'll be a long and dangerous journey to the Great Unknown! Of course, you'll need a map."

"D-d-d-d-d-dangerous!?" Piglet stuttered.

By then, Owl had pulled out a bottle of ink and a rolled up sheet of paper before unrolling it and began to work on drawing out the landscape of the best route for everyone to take, and Piglet then asked. "Oh, Owl. Y-you wouldn't suppose there'd be uh...H-H-H-Heffalumps?"

"Oh, thank you! I nearly forgot! Herds of Heffalump!" Owl said happily, which made the Keyblade Wielders even more confused. "Down here, in this part of the forest, they are spotted on the Southwest portion."

"What about Woozles?" Tigger asked, nervously.

"And Jaguars like the ones from today?" Pooh added, nervously.

"Woozles and Jaguars are over here, and over there and appear anywhere they wish." Owl explained, still scribbling around making the map, before concluding ominously. "And let's forget, the fabled...Hoo-hoo-hoo! _**Skullasaurus**_!"

"_**Sk-Skullasaurus!?**_" Tigger asked, worriedly and frightened, as he and his friend shook in fear. Kairi and Lea both held even more worried expressions, sharing another look. Whether this Skullasaurus was just the name of the Heartless Boss around here, or an actual monster was still left to debate and while both still had a feeling that Christopher Robin went to school, they also knew that they had to watch out for any potential dangers in each and every world, illusions or not.

Or perhaps Xehanort created it to test them to see if they were ready to part take in the Keyblade War or not. Either way, the situation was already getting worse and more complicated.

"Oh, come, come, come." Owl said, approaching the group and gathered them around. "Without a monster or two, it's hardly a quest. Just a gaggle of friends wandering around."

'_I'd rather have the wandering around part without any monsters or bad guys, thanks._' Lea grumbled in his mind. Plus as he knew since Owl wasn't the 'wisest of all animals' as Pooh and his friends had claimed, not all adventures involved monsters and he wished to have those kind of adventures.

Owl then continued excitedly. "How you are all so lucky, I wish I was coming too! Not everyone has the chance to face the unspeakable terrors of the _'Great Unknown'_!"

He then approached Pooh and added. "Oh, I almost forgot the very best part! You not only get to save your friends from the most-_dangerous_ place, namely 'Skull', but also from the most-dangerous part of the most-dangerous place-the _eye_ of the 'Skull' itself!"

Pooh felt uneasy, as he muttered with a soft gulp. "Oh, bother."

Kairi smiled a little even though she was just as worried. She remembered the times when Sora and Riku saved her, and she tried her best to save them as well. Like how, with her powers as the Princess of Heart as she was certain of, restored Sora back to his human form when he'd briefly turned into a Heartless after he sacrificed himself to free her heart. Still, she'd been just as untrained back then. So if she managed to do that, then Pooh can save Christopher Robin too.

"Excuse me, Owl? Perhaps you could join us?" Pooh queried with a small smile with a hint of hope.

"No, no! You go ahead! Good luck to you all! After all, adventure is a wonderful thing!" Owl replied, handing Pooh over the map, and approached a lever that no one had even noticed was there. As he pushed it forward with a wave, a trap door suddenly opened underneath Kairi, Lea, Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit and Eeyore who all fell through in alarm.

Once they had reached the bottom, a secret doorway opened, sending them all flying out onto the ground before they landed. While standing up and seeing how they were already sent on their way, the group shrugged before heading down towards the forest into the direction that would take them to the first step of their journey.

"I salute you!" Owl's voice called up from his tree home, as he waved them while watching the group slowly vanish. "And to those of you who are doomed to never return, I salute you twice!"

Without a moment to lose, Kairi and her group went on their way, towards what was the larger part of the Hundred Acre Wood which Owl had called 'The Great Unknown'.

But as they did, both Kairi felt a sense of deja vu as everything around her froze, but unlike the time in Enchanted Dominion and finding herself surrounded in light, the Princess of Heart not only found herself on her own, but also that she was in some kind of meodow, still in the Hundred Acre Wood and it wasn't as static, but more like a clear memory, with Pooh sitting on a log, tapping the side of his head.

"Pooh?" Kairi muttered, before gasping softly as she noticed a familiar boy approach; one in red and white with yellow shoes, and the spiky brown hair; "Sora?"

It was indeed Sora, but as a fourteen year old, one that she remembered clearly from two years ago. Was this a memory of Sora's first visit to this world?

"_Hi there. What's wrong?_" Sora asked the bear who looked up to him.

"_Nothing. Just thinking._" Pooh was saying. "_I was thinking of how to say goodbye to Pooh._"

"_Pooh?_" Sora queried, as he took a seat next to the bear.

"_Yes?_" The bear unexpectedly answered, which only made Kairi giggle. Poor Pooh really did have a very little brain, but he was still very kind none the less.

"_Wait. __**You're**__ Pooh?_" The teenage boy asked, incredulously.

Pooh nodded. "_Yes, I'm Winnie the Pooh. Pooh for short. Who are you?_"

"_I'm Sora._" Sora replied.

"_Oh, hello, Sora._" Pooh greeted, before his expression had turned sad which made Kairi quickly grow concerned. "_Have you come to say goodbye to Pooh, too?_"

Sora tilted his head to the side. "_Well, no. Why would I do that? We've only just met._"

The small bear sighed as he explained, gazing out at the meadow. "_Because everyone's gone away._"

"_What do you mean?_"

"_Well, we all lived here in the Hundred Acre Wood. And we'd take walks together, or play Pooh sticks... And every day, I'd eat some honey. Just one small smackeral would taste very good right now._" Pooh explained, as he hopped off the log. "_But now everyone's gone. All my friends, and my favorite Honey Tree too. Everyone must've gone away while I was napping, I think... So, who knows?_"

Just as Kairi was about to hear more of the situation as her heart ached, the memory shifted again, and it showed her a large tree with bees buzzing around and Sora was speaking to Piglet just as Pooh had arrived, holding a red balloon.

"_Thank you, Piglet. Now I can finally have some honey._" Pooh was saying to his smallest friend.

"_Really? B-But how?_" Piglet asked, confused. Both the memory of Sora and Kairi also held confused expressions. How did Pooh managed to do that? Unless...

'_Oh, no. He's not doing what I think he did, is he?_' Kairi thought to herself, hoping that she was wrong.

Her hopes were dashed as Pooh explained. "_I shall hold on to the balloon, and fly like a bee up the Honey Tree, see._"

"_But if you take their honey, won't the bees be angry?_" Piglet pointed out, and Pooh looked at the balloon, seemingly realizing that that was a problem.

Yet the memory flashed around Kairi before she could hear what else was about to happen, and in an instant, she found herself seeing more of the memories flash; from Sora meeting Tigger and Rabbit in a garden where Pooh got stuck in a rabbit hole, to rescuing Eeyore who was floating down a river and finding his tail, to meeting a Kangaroo and a smaller one with a blue shirt and bouncing, and eventually Sora and all of the Hundred Acre Wood residents gathered on a hill, looking up at the night sky.

"_I'm so glad we're all together again. I didn't know what to do when I was all alone._" Piglet was saying in relief.

Tigger smiled as he reassured. "_Aw, Piglet, you gotta be brave._"

"_You weren't lonely at all?_" The smaller animal asked, surprised.

"_Lonely?_" Tigger replied. "_Are you kiddin'? I'm a Tigger! The most wonderful __thing about Tiggers is I'm the only one. But I do admit, friends are __awfully fun, too!_"

Pooh in the meantime was thinking hard to himself, which made Sora ask him and even Kairi was curious to hear despite that this was just the world's memory back in the Realm of Light. "_Hey, Pooh, what are you thinking about now?_"

"_Oh, well, I'm just thinking about what to think about._" Pooh replied.

Sora smiled a little, then said as he knew, and even Kairi knew there and then, it was time to go. "_I'm gonna go look for my friends. They're waiting for me._"

"Sora..." Kairi whispered, smiling a little. He was always like that; thinking about others more than himself. After Sora had given his goodbyes to Pooh's group, he leaped down the hill and jabbed his fist into the air, before looking back at them. They waved to him a goodbye.

"_Sora, don't forget... We shall always be here. If you'd like to visit again, that is._" Pooh called out as Sora disappeared to leave the book world behind.

Kairi smiled, then everything around her went white again which forced her to close her eyes to avoid in being blinded. When it faded, she found herself back in the same spot she'd been walking on with Lea and the others, but had paused in what seemed like a second or two and time had returned to normal.

"Hey, Kairi." Lea's voice jarred her back to reality, as she'd been thinking about why she'd been the only one to see the memory this time. "You okay?"

"Yes...yes, I'm fine. Don't worry." Kairi replied, hurrying to catch up to the group. As she did, she thought of the memories of Sora's first visit to the Hundred Acre Wood.

It was true that the same thing happened before in the Enchanted Dominion, but it had shown both her and Lea of Terra, Ven and Aqua being there. So then, why did this world only showed her it's memories? True Sora was the only one to have come to the real Hundred Acre Wood, but it didn't make any sense.

Despite this, Kairi mentally shook her head as she knew that she didn't have time to ponder on these thoughts at the moment. Right now, she and her companion had to help the illusions of Pooh and his friends to find Christopher Robin.

Unaware that this journey would be more complicated than either one expected. Especially Kairi and Lea.

* * *

**A/N: This was originally going to be the Castle of Dreams, but somehow I keep struggling with it every time I make an attempt. So I chose the Hundred Acre Woods instead to make things more interesting and it's given me more ideas to connect the characters-the main ones-even closer.**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	35. Chapter 34: Fears becoming Reality?

**Author's note: I know this story isn't as good as I hoped, but I'm trying my best with it. Sorry, everyone. We're still a long way to go, but I will complete this story. Just not this year as I originally had thought. But at least there's KH3: ReMind to look forward to!**

**Anyway, let's continue on.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 34: Fears becoming Reality?

An hour passed since Kairi and the others left Owl's house on their quest to find Christopher Robin, even though Lea still thought that the whole Skull thing to be ridiculous, but since he and Kairi had to fought off Heartless every once and a while, the redhead started to think that maybe someone or some_thing_ really was behind all of this. But it didn't add up to what was really going on, and he knew that he and Kairi had to find out soon without falling into some kind of trap.

All seven of them had already passed two woods and while only Heartless appeared, which Pooh and his friends thought they were actually Jaguars at first and the two Keyblade Wielders finally admitted the real name of the monsters and are just as dangerous, the group of this world still felt the dread of facing even more of their fears, like actual Jaguars, even Heffalumps, and Woozles in the woods. Or at least that's what Owl had said.

Just as the group made it to the clearing, with Pooh having taken the lead while examining the map despite that he couldn't read all that well, his eyes wided in surprise when he spotted something up ahead and exclaimed. "Look!"

There stood a large rock that kind of looked upside down, and as Kairi, Lea, Pooh, Tigger and Rabbit gazed at the map, they saw a picture of the same rock, but it had two glaring eyes with monster like hands to make it as though it was possessed or enchanted.

"_'The Upside Down Rock; If you made it this far...you're where...monsters...are.'_" Rabbit read, slowly trailing as he began to get nervous.

"Doesn't it mean _more_ monsters? We've seen a bunch of Heartless since we left and I don't think we've seen the last of them yet." Lea pointed out, furrowing his brows in suspicion and concern.

"Owl did say this journey will be dangerous, but I'm not going to give up." Kairi declared, even though she started to feel a bit nervous yet tried to hide it. The longer they went, the more worried she became for Christopher Robin. Had it been for Sora, she would've tried her best to go out and find him. It was what she's been trained for; to help her friends and no longer wait for him and Riku to come home.

But she couldn't help but wonder...if she really had what it takes to help out? What if she messed up and was declared not fit to wield the Keyblade or help her friends and everyone else to fight the Organization? If she failed her task here in the Timeless Realm, who would take her place as a Guardian of Light? If she failed...

She wouldn't be able to help Sora if he needed her.

_**"You were born for only one purpose, Princess."**_

Gasping as she heard a dark voice ring in her mind, and suddenly sensing a presence, Kairi spun to look to her left and for a split second, she saw something, or someone, standing up ahead. As she did, and she heard Lea, Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet and Eeyore stand up with confused or alarmed noises themselves, they all saw a silhouette of a person that was quickly disappearing. But Kairi caught sight of shaggy hair, a purple and pink dress and the figure waving her arm before vanishing.

"Who...?" Kairi muttered, before gasping again as at least twenty forms of Heartless appeared in front of them. "The Heartless!"

"Oh d-d-d-dear!" Piglet exclaimed in horror.

"Pooh! You and the others hide somewhere that's safe!" Kairi instructed, and while she did wonder who the person she'd seen was, the lives of Sora's Hundred Acre Wood friends, the illusions of them, were in danger. As soon as the five animals quickly hurried back into the woods behind the two Keyblade Wielders to hide among the trees, the teenage girl and Lea both quickly summoned their Keyblades to fight.

Kairi tried an example of blocking a Fire Ball that Belly-Arabian Heartless flared up and blocked it with her Keyblade the way how she imagined Sora would do. It seemingly worked, but the extinguished flames came too close to her body for her liking and dodge rolled out of the way when it tried to stomp her. Fortunately, like the normal Belly Heartless, it's weakness was it's back, so she took care of the other Heartless that attempted to block her path with Lea helping, and flipped over in the air before landing in a crouch behind her target. The Princess of Heart wasted no time in gearing up a Blizzard Spell, but something within her either changed or upgraded. She couldn't tell.

Because instead of the average Blizzard she learned, the teenage girl felt her heart warm up with a bit of a burst of light and unexpectedly chanted, "Blizzaga!"

The upgrade of the spell worked and it hit the monster on the back, causing more damage to it than she thought. Stunned by this, the Princess of Heart heard Lea's warning and turned around just in time to see a Monkey Heartless attempt to scratch her with it's sharp claws. Kairi jumped back to avoid it just as her companion rushed past her and slashed it into oblivion. After giving her a confident grin with a nod which made her smile and nod back at him, the two Keyblade Wielders kept on fighting until they got rid the last of the Heartless as quickly as possible.

"Um, excuse me? Is it...safe to come out, now?" Pooh's voice startled them back, causing Kairi and Lea to turn and see the bear along with his friends slowly and nervously emerge from trees.

"Yeah. No more Heartless in sight around here." Lea confirmed. The five animals sighed in relief before rejoining the two.

"Are you okay?" Kairi asked softly.

"Of course. Thank you for saving us-and me again." Pooh replied.

"Ah, I wasn't even one teensy bit scareded. I woulda beaten 'em up!" Tigger scoffed, and pretended to fight an invisible opponent.

"But who was that strange person that ran away?" Rabbit queried, which made both Kairi and Lea gaze at him in shock and surprise.

"You saw that person too?" Kairi asked. So it wasn't her imagination. Could that old woman, and she was certain that it was a woman, but with dark magic, be behind all of this?

"Wish I could say I didn't, but I did." Eeyore sighed, still as gloomy as always.

Pooh held a very worried expression, turning to the two travelers. "Do you know who that person was?"

"No. She isn't anyone we've seen before." Kairi shook her head, turning to the direction where the woman went off to. "What I do know is that she doesn't seem friendly at all."

"Well, whoever that lady is, I just hope we won't be seeing her again." Lea said, also gazing in the same path.

No sooner had he said that, a huge growl echoed into the ears of everyone. Whirling their eyes around the immediate area, one could clearly tell the entire group was certain they weren't alone and turned to the source of the noise, seemingly coming from the forest Pooh and his friends were just hiding in. For several long seconds, silence followed. Suddenly everyone, even Kairi and Lea, felt increasingly nervous.

"Now what was that?" Piglet asked, nervously.

"It's not a Heartless. Is it?" Kairi asked, her grip on her Keyblade tight, even though she was suddenly becoming even more terrified and she had no idea why. Why was she very afraid when she'd been lucky enough to escape Monstro, or rather, Isa unexpectedly saving her and Lea back in Prankster's Paradise?

"Don't think so. Sounds like somebody's starvin'." Lea replied, and to him, it did sound like a stomach rumbling and while strangely enough his instincts were telling him that it wasn't anything to worry about, the sound wasn't exactly comforting.

Tigger gulped, adding. "It sounded too hungry to be a Heffalump."

The growling continued to get louder, which made everyone begin to back away anxiously, while Tigger continued, quivering. "Too big for a Jaguar."

"Or e-even a Woozle." Rabbit quivered.

"Then...what could it b-be?" Pooh shivered, nervously.

"I hate to say this, buddy-bear..." Tigger nervously stammered, coming up with the only conclusion. "But I'd say it's a...big old, buggy-eyed, saber-toothy...Skullasaurus."

"_Skullasaurus!?_" Everyone else exclaimed in alarm and no small amount of fear. The only ones not fully panicking were Kairi and Lea, but that didn't make them any less concerned.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Lea exclaimed, shocked. There was just no way that thing that Owl mentioned had to be real. Maybe it was that creepy lady behind this situation. But what would a woman like her be doing her and mess up with everyone? Was she even part of this world, either real in a book or an illusion?

"But we were just in there! So where did it come from?" Kairi asked, worriedly. Was Skullasaurus just another Heartless? An illusion to make everyone paranoid? Like Lea, the Princess of Heart began to think that the old woman could be using dark magic to strike fear into everyone's hearts, and while she tried to believe that it could be just their imaginations, it was hard to say in an illusion based on a real world.

"Which way do we run?" Tigger shivered.

"Where do we hide!?" Piglet screamed, hiding behind Pooh.

"Where's the short cut back home!?" Rabbit exclaimed to the bear.

Pooh opened up the map to at least answer the bunny's question, and stuttered while pointing randomly to the left. "I believe...uh, um...That way, is a good way."

No sooner he said this, his four friends screamed and ran into the direction the bear was pointing, and the two Keyblade Wielders watched them, not sure what to do. Pooh continued to examine the map, suggesting while pointing to the left. "Although, this way could be better."

Rabbit, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore ran into that direction, panicking and screaming hysterically.

"It's not over here." Pooh pointed again and while his best friends ran back to the right, he then chuckled as he suggested towards the opposite direction again. "Although, there is a pacticular place as well."

Lea facepalmed himself with a groan. How Sora was friends with someone just as gulliable as that poor kid at times was beyond him. As much as he hated to even think about it, but the way how Pooh was leading was like Roxas's first week in the Organization and how that kid acted like a zombie. He even remembered, as Axel, that Roxas stated that he could've done his job blind folded and it gave him the creepy thought of a blind folded zombie moving around.

"Everyone, please calm down!" Kairi cried out, getting just a little bit irritated but at the same didn't want the others to go around running around back and forth in panic. Thankfully, it worked, because Rabbit, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet all came to a screech halt. "I know it's bad right now, but this isn't the time to panic. We still have to find and save Christopher Robin."

"She's right!" Rabbit was the first to agree, walking over to Pooh and continued. "We're getting nowhere fast and that just won't do! We need an effective leader; Someone leader-y, informed. Someone like..."

Before either Kairi, Lea or even Tigger could even volunteer for the job, Rabbit swiped the map from Pooh's hands and declared with a smile. "Me!"

_**GROWL!**_

The even louder growl startled everyone that made them jump slightly, before Rabbit quickly scanned the map to see which way to go next. Kairi and Lea made to summon their Keyblades again, but were confused when not monster could even be seen approaching from the shadows of the trees. Or maybe the Skullasaurus was waiting for the right time to attack it's prey?

Or maybe it wasn't a monster at all, but something more simple...

"Maybe it's something that isn't dangerous at all." Kairi whispered to Lea, as she couldn't sense anything dangerous and she was keeping her eyes on the forest.

Lea was thankful that Kairi made an assumption that made perfect sense. Plus, no one had any evidence that the Skullasaurus was even real. For all he knew, it could be that someone with them was just so hungry that they weren't even noticing it due to the fear of something that didn't exist has made their minds play tricks on them.

Still...

"There!" Rabbit pointed towards a clump of trees to his left, causing everyone to turn to him as he explained, with a hint of fear in his voice. "Anyone with half a sense of direction would see we'll lose the beast by cutting across that lovely meadow."

* * *

Lovely meadow, he said. Anyone with half a sense of direction, he said. This was an annoyed Lea was thinking as he and the others had to concentrate in not getting accidentally scratched or poked by endless thorns sticking out on grey vines that made him and Kairi think they were in the thorns Maleficent created to stop them and Prince Phillip all over again.

The redhead began to think that Rabbit really didn't know where they were going or even paid attention to his surroundings. Then again, Owl couldn't tell between school and skull, either.

"What a _lovely_ meadow this is." Rabbit remarked sarcastically, "The perfect location."

"Ow!" Lea yanked his hand away from the a vine that had thorns had hadn't even seen, but ended up pocking his gloved palm. While it protected him from bleeding or getting splinters, it still hurt a bit. He then grumbled sarcastically, "Yeah, it's so perfect that I could lay down on the grass on my back and sleep here all day."

"Where exactly _is_ this location, Rabbit?" Pooh asked, as he climbed over a vine with Kairi's help, before she helped Piglet and gently set him down. "And might it be nearer Christopher Robin than further?"

"Well, we're right here, on course, of course." Rabbit replied, trying to sound as brave as he could manage. "W-where else would we be?"

Kairi had a feeling that they were going in the wrong direction, but she didn't voice it. Given that they had to crawl, climb and duck under the thorns in what she could only describe as a thorn forest instead of the meadow was the proof of that. She was starting to wish that she had pants and long sleeves like Lea did, or at least shorts and pants like both Sora and Riki had. But still, the fact that such a place like this even existed where was Sora never mentioned anything about encountering thorns, made her think that the mysterious woman may be a witch and could be behind all this.

'_Would Merlin and Master Yen Sid know about her? Who is she? What does she want? Is she with the real Maleficent, or with the Organization?_' Kairi thought to herself, as she ducked under another vine of thorns, and winced in sympathy when she saw Piglet accidentally poke himself slightly on the back.

"Piglet? Are you hurt?" She asked as she bend down lower to see if he had a tiny injury or not.

"N-no, thank you, Kairi. But, t-this is not the place for a small, and frightfully, fearful animal...such as myself." Piglet replied, looking around nervously at the scary surroundings. Kairi didn't blame him for being scared. Though this wasn't that much creepy to her, she remembered how she'd been a little afraid to leave Destiny Islands at first two years ago, back when she, Sora and Riku built the raft to go and explore the worlds and also to find the world where she was born.

And how she was nervous to be around Lea who'd changed, and that Kairi had discovered how nice he was, and that he apologized repeatedly during their first few days or so in the Timeless Realm for what he did to her and Sora.

"Or myself." Tigger agreed as he was going through a small patch up ahead, before looking downward, adding. "Or _himself._"

"Thanks for noticin'." Eeyore sadly said, crawling awkwardly underneath a very low thorn.

Lea grunted, while pulling the bottom of his coat from another thorn, before sighing. "At least none of you have this coat."

"Well, you did have to keep on wearing it to try and make yourself more memorized." Kairi teasingly reminded. She couldn't help but giggle when the taller man gave her an annoyed look before childishly sticking his tongue out briefly, then turned and pretended he didn't hear her comment.

"Exactly why I chose it. No Skullasaurus would dare follow us in here." Rabbit pointed out, chuckling a little, still trying to sound confident as he gestured around the thorns.

As though he'd somehow jinxed them, everyone jumped in fright when they heard another monsterous growl echo around them. Rabbit's ears rolled up before shooting out like a pair of party favors. Kairi shrieked a little as she and Lea both looked around rapidly trying to find the source of it, but again, they couldn't see any traces of the monster or any Heartless. Overcome by terror, Piglet screamed before darting down a narrow path through the thorny patch of vines big enough only for him.

"Piglet! Come back! I can't lose you too!" Pooh exclaimed, though when he tried to give chase, he was unable to do so since he got stuck. Thus he quickly lost sight of his smallest friend zig-zagging out of sight in a swift movement in fear.

"Piglet, wait! It's going to be okay!" Kairi cried out, and without telling the others to follow, she quickly hurried along to chase after the terrified small animal, finding another and thankfully larger opening to fit through and ran up ahead, ignoring Lea's protests to wait. She was more concerned of Piglet running into Heartless, or the woman from earlier, or even the Organization.

But as Kairi was following Piglet's footprints to indicate where he went after managing to find the path connecting to the one he'd taken, she was almost ambushed by more Heartless which, even by herself and being nervous without Lea around, took care of them surprisingly before continuing on. After what felt like forever since trying to locate him, Kairi came to a patch which light shining through that she had to squint her eyes and shield them with her hand. Pausing, she saw that, to her relief, not only was the way out, but also the direction that Piglet had went to.

Before she could sprint ahead to catch up to him, everything around her froze which made Kairi gasp, and she found herself in a sphere that a few specks of darkness floating around, which told her that it wasn't a memory considering how she was still in the forest of thorns. Gazing around in alarm and growing fear which she fright to force down inside her, Kairi felt dread creep up.

"It is very foolish to run off without guidance, Princess." The very unwelcome deep voice chastised behind her, making Kairi almost freeze but forcing herself to whirl around as, to her utter dismay and fear, it was the familiar blue haired man who was just stepping out of a Corridor of Darkness.

"You...!" Kairi muttered, as bravely as she could muster, but she couldn't stop the hint of quivering in her voice.

"I'm beginning to think that Sora has influenced you to do such reckless things as he would." Saix continued, then scoffed as though remembering something. "Then again, Lea used to do that quite a lot as a child. That much has not changed, I image."

"What are you doing here?" Kairi demanded, summoning her Keyblade just in case. "What did you do to Piglet?"

"I do not know anyone of that name. You are the one chasing after an illusion of one that Sora's heart is connected to, within a world full of illusions. As I told you, only you, Lea, and I are real." Saix responded. "However, books are worlds within themselves. Which makes me wonder; could Data be as real as a Nobody?"

Kairi glared hard despite her fear of being alone, and wished she hadn't run off the way she did. But then she tried to remind herself that there were times when she had to do things on her own, and while she didn't know if she was ready to fight a member of the Organization yet, she had to at least try without being caught and then taken to Master Xehanort, because she knew that she would most likely be held against her will and then used to form the X-Blade along with the other six Princesses.

"Of course they can! Ansem the Wise once told the King that a Heart is more than any system. Hearts can form on their own when they choose their owners...like our Keyblades!" Kairi replied and was admittedly surprised on what she was saying, but she felt that she was right.

"I admit, you are correct. Whether our bodies are born naturally, or artificially created by scientists, or even within stories and computers, how a heart can fully be formed from within is forever a mystery. Because as you have said, like Keyblades choosing their masters, hearts can choose their own vessels as they grow and form on their own without the influence of masters." Saix said.

He then pointed at the Princess of Heart, continuing. "However, hearts also make decisions even without our knowledge, connecting with those who may be doomed to vanish. Even yours is not fully safe from the Darkness, Kairi. One day, should you survive the Keyblade War, you will have to give up your powers and pass them down to your own successor. Though I wouldn't recommend it, since you won't survive long enough to even see the end results of the outcome."

Despite feeling a sharp cold chill run down her spine, Kairi did her best to stand her ground as she yelled back, "I'm not going anywhere with you! Xehanort won't be using me or anyone I care about, or even the other Princesses!"

"Hmph. You and I are without back up. Let's see if you are brave enough to hold me back. Without interruptions." Saix smirked, almost as though he was amused. He held out his hand and summoned his Claymore, before taking a fighting stance.

Kairi felt a wave of fear flash through her, but she tried her best to stay focused. If she lost here, she would no doubt be taken to Xehanort and then all was lost. Plus, being trapped in a sphere didn't help matters at all. Was she really ready to do this? If she wasn't, then she failed her test and worse, everyone would be one Guardian of Light shorter and then Xehanort would move on to collect the other Princesses; Snow White, Cinderella, the real Aurora, Jasmine, Alice and Belle.

No time for doubt or fears now, because Saix was speeding straight towards her. Kairi ended up dodging at the last minute before rolling out of the way when the man thrust his Claymore on the ground, which shook the sphere and nearly made her lose her balance. Ignoring it, she tried using Fire at him, but he was shockingly fast as he dodged it and charged again. Kairi quickly held up her Keyblade to block the larger weapon and the two struggled despite that she was quickly already losing this lock sequence. Thinking desperately, she risked in using her Flower Shoot aimed at Saix's face.

It worked, as the man for once didn't see this coming and was forced to back away, but was hit in the face as he yelled out in pain, holding a hand towards the side of it and wincing. Kairi used this to try and attack and ran up as quickly as possible, thrusting her Destiny Embrace at him at least three times which made Saix grunt before leaping out of the way and then thrust his Claymore out, creating a strong gust of wind which blew her to the side. She screamed when she hit the ground hard, moaning as her her spun. Trying her best to stay focused, and rolling out of the way again before Saix ended up killing her by thrusting his weapon again, Kairi used Cure on herself to heal her wounds despite running low on her magic, and tried to block her opponent's deadly weapon as hard as she could.

"Freeze!" Kairi chanted, using Blizzaga to try and encast Saix even for just a moment. But he blocked it with his Claymore despite that it was briefly covered in a thin layer of ice. Still, she then attempted to use Thunder which zapped him at least one, but he quickly moved out of the way and charged at her again.

Kairi jumped back and blocked more of the attacks and ducked before trying to slash the Nobody in the stomach, but Saix caught the blade with his free hand and she struggled to pull it free, beginning to really panic. Thinking quickly, she made to use Flower Shoot again, but Saix simply used sheer force to push her back and then whacked both her and her Keyblade backwards where she was sent flying, screaming in alarm before hitting the wall of the sphere hard, crying out in pain and air knocked out from her lungs. The teenage girl slumped onto the ground as her Keyblade dismissed itself.

Moaning and breathing hard, Kairi could only look up and tried to crawl away backwards as far as she could, even if her back was already touching the wall while Saix, obviously having on this battle, calmly dismissed his weapon and walked over to her, apparently ready to take her with him to Master Xehanort's clutches. Worse, Kairi was on her own, without Sora, Riku or Lea to save her, let alone being close by. All of the courage she had vanished, and she could only lean away as far as possible with fear no longer hidden.

The blue haired man then simply grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up, despite her trying to break free from his grip.

"Let go of me! Let me go!" Kairi shouted, pounding Saix's arm that held her by the upper arm, only for him to grab her other arm by the wrist, and despite her heart freezing up in sheer terror, she continued to struggle.

"You should know better to fight opponents stronger than you." Saix stated coldly, with a hint of disapprovement and disappointment in his voice.

'_No...! No, please! This can't end like this!_' Kairi thought desperately. She needed to do something quickly, or else she was held prisoner again. It was then that she quickly remembered a lesson that Lea taught her, just a day or two before they began their journey.

* * *

_Flash Back:_

_Kairi and Lea had been trainining by facing each other off, clashing Keyblades before they panted and decided to call it off. They stood up straight before approaching and dismissing their weapons for the time being._

_"I think you're getting even better than me, Kairi. Nice move back there." Lea praised with a wide grin._

_"You sure you didn't go easy on me?" Kairi replied back, a bit skeptically._

_"Hey, I did promise ya' that I wouldn't, didn't I?" The taller redhead pointed out, placing his hands on his hips. "Just glad I didn't end up with a scar on my face when you blasted me with your Flower Shoot."_

_"I'm sorry. I panicked a little when you grabbed me by the wrist." Kairi sighed, lowering her gaze to the ground. While she had now fully trusted her former kidnapper, that split second made her admittedly terrified and she had no idea why._

_Lea sighed as well, rubbing the back of his head. "Nah, it's more my fault. But ya' know, I have to at least teach you how to break free from anyone's grasp if you do end up in that situation again, and I'm gonna be fully serious when I say that your Keyblade won't be able to get you out of that jam all the time."_

_"So how do I do it without it, then? I couldn't do it when you kidnapped me." The teenage girl asked, almost desperately._

_"One, because even though you were tough back then, you won't trained at the time. Two, you were panicking, like you did now. There are ways to break free from a strong hold, and not just by simply staying calm. You gotta look for your opponent's weakness that they wouldn't even think of you doing." The taller man explained._

_Kairi tilted her head to the side slightly. "What do you mean?"_

_"Simple." Lea laughed a bit. "Don't just focus on the arms or the face. That's where they have a strong hold of you. But if you look at them but really think, aim for the lower parts of their body. Like the stomach or the foot. Trust me, if you do that as hard as you can, they'll focus on the pain which will make them let you go without even knowing. _Then_ strike quickly before they recover."_

_He then tapped the side of his head, adding, "Got it memorized?"_

_Funny enough, Kairi couldn't help but remember Sora mention Belle hitting Xaldin in the stomach with her elbow to get herself and the Rose away and making a run for it. She hadn't even thought of it back then, but now that Lea had explained to her another lesson, she realized that it made perfect sense._

_"Right. Thanks, Axel." She replied, smiling softly._

* * *

End of Flash Back:

Eyes mentally widening when she remembered this, Kairi stopped her struggling, trying her best to quickly calm down and glared up hard at Saix, who frowned in confusion when she did that. Then, just as they were focused on each other, the Princess of Heart stomped him with her boot on the right foot as hard as she could.

"Ugh!" The blue-haired man grunted in pain, squeezing his eyes shut and as Kairi had hoped, released his grip on her which allowed her to back up a bit and resummon her Keyblade.

"Flower Shoot!" She chanted, aiming carefully and the burst of light shot out from her weapon, and right into Saix's crouched position. Too shocked to even realize what just happened, Saix screamed in pain while being forced back half way away from Kairi who despite being exhausted, stood in defense and glaring hard.

Wincing in pain, but not enough to be fading away, Saix slowly looked up while holding the side of his face, waiting for the stinging sensation of light and the pain on his foot to ease, glaring hard at the Princess of Heart who glared back at him, breathing hard and slowly. Seeing this and having been unexpectedly attacked made him decide to back off for now. He made a mental note to be more prepared, but at the same time, be careful on what to say.

"Very well done, Kairi." Saix complimented, standing up straight. "It seems you have passed the test at the very last second."

"You were testing me?" Kairi asked, incredulously. So their fight was nothing more than a test? Similar to the fight her opponent and Lea had done in Prankster's Paradise?

"Yes. For you to prove whether you are capable of fighting without being kidnapped or not. Had you failed, you would have been taken prisoner and held to await your fate, and be joined by the other Princesses."

Kairi felt another chill run down her spine, and tried hard not to shudder. If she hadn't remembered what Lea told her, then she most certainly would've ended up in Xehanort's clutches. But what Saix also mentioned made her ask, shakily before she could stop herself. "You mean...he already has the other Princesses?"

Saix shook his head. "No. We are merely waiting to see if you and the other Guardians of Light are capable of fighting against our Thirteen Darknesses, before we take drastic action and search for most of the replacements. I can dare say that you are the only one who is both a Princess of Heart and a Keyblade Wielder. As such, until you are ready, you are also among the New Seven Lights."

"New Seven...Lights?" The Princess of Heart asked, puzzled. "I thought you said you were after the Princesses."

"What I told you was the truth. However, you must have understand that the roles of those you have met are no longer among the ranks. As of now, one who like you has the power of flowers is being closely kept an eye on, and another has stopped a war between her homeland and outsiders. Then again, time runs differently in the Realm of Light." Saix explained darkly.

She didn't know what to say about that, she really didn't. Kairi wasn't even certain whether to believe the member of the Organization or not. Still...what he said about her making the decision to pass on her powers wasn't that farfected. If so, did that mean that Aurora, Jasmine, Belle, Alice, Snow White and Cinderella were not Princesses of Heart anymore, because they passed down their powers to six new Princesses who wouldn't even know about their new responsiblities.

Then again, she remembered Sora mention something about a girl named Rapunzel who was the light of her world that Marluxia was targeting her. Did that meant that Rapunzel was one of the new Seven Lights?

"What about that woman Axel and I saw earlier? Is she part of the Organization's scheme too? Because I don't remember Sora mention anything about her being in the real version of this world." Kairi asked, deciding to change the subject since she knew she wouldn't be getting any answers about the Seven New Lights right now.

As soon as she said it, Kairi could've sworn she'd just seen a hint of...shock, disappointment, anger perhaps, in Saix's cold, amber eyes. Could she have imagined it?

"Sounds to me like an unexpected leech is running loose. What I can say is that she is not part of the Organization's plans, nor is she part of this world's illusion. I suggest you watch out for her, Kairi, and give Lea the same warning." Saix replied.

"Why would I take advice from you? You tried to kidnap me again!" Kairi said, angrily.

This only made the blue haired man smirk, as darkness formed around him as he began to teleport away, but not before saying for the final time to her. "Hmph. You have a very strong will."

As Saix vanished, the sphere that had Kairi trapped also disappeared and like times before, time returned to normal. Still, she kept her guard up as she glanced around quickly just in case the Nobody returned to attack her and kidnap her for real. After several tensed moments, she relaxed a little and breathed a sigh of relief. That had been far too close. But at the same time, Kairi felt her confidence weaver.

She was almost kidnapped again, and if she hadn't done what Lea had told her to do...Kairi wouldn't be here. She let her fear almost let her get captured. But as she thought of fear, she softly gasped as she suddenly remembered what she intended on doing before Saix had unexpectedly arrived.

"Piglet!" She cried out, and despite still being shaken from her battle, Kairi took out a Hi Potion magically stored and gulped it down to heal her injuries before running out towards the exit of the thorn forest. As she did, she came to a stop on top of a small grassy hill, and her eyes lit up in disbelief at the sight before her, before a smile formed on her face.

Up ahead was a large canyon consisting of reddish colored smooth stone, with a beautiful blue sky. Down below was a large patch of flowers sprouting in the middle of a lush, green meadow could be seen. A long, narrow stream flowed through the surrounding terrain without much hurry. This was definitely the meadow and Kairi began to think that the thorns were just an obstacle on how to get here.

"It's beautiful." She whispered to herself, before noticing a familiar sight of pink down below next to what appeared to be a lavender bush. But then one of the 'flowers' flew off and Kairi quickly saw, with Piglet who laughed, was a butterfly. "Oh! Piglet!"

"Oh, hello, Kairi." Piglet greeted, hearing her voice before seeing the teenage girl, somewhat overcome by relief and beauty of this place from her fight, approached him.

"Thank goodness you're okay." Kairi replied, smiling happily. She then giggled when the butterfly that fluttered around Piglet grabbed one of the straps of his clothing and tugged hard.

"Yo! Glad to see you two doin' okay."

Kairi and Piglet both looked to see that Lea, who was waving at them with a grin on his face, approach along with Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit who was once again reading the map, and Eeyore. At that moment, Kairi never felt so relieved to see them, especially Lea. But due to the residents of the Hundred Acre Wood around, she fought down the urge to run up and hug him. Her heart sank as she realized she would have to tell him what happened to her, given how he'd unknowingly been frozen in time.

"Hey, Axel." Kairi greeted, waving back.

"My, my. I believe you and Kairi made a friend, Piglet." Pooh said happily as he approached.

"You're right, Pooh." Piglet giggled in agreement. The butterfly in the meantime tried to apparently pull Piglet up, but was unable to do so. Then, it whistled and gestured the other Butterflies to help out. One by one and soon the entire flock of purple butterflies all gathered around and covered him.

"Whoa! That's a whole lot of 'em." Lea remarked, surprised.

"Yeah!" Tigger agreed, before saying to Piglet. "You know, Piglet, o'l pal. You're just plain popular!"

"Some Piglets have it, some donkeys don't." Eeyore muttered with a sigh.

Lea couldn't help but roll his eyes at that comment. Didn't the donkey ever see the bright side of anything? Let alone smile happily? Then again, maybe it was just Eeyore's personality and that he should go easy on him. He was brought out of his brief musing when the butterflies began to fly up with Piglet.

"Why, I believe, Piglet, they want to take you home with them." Pooh remarked.

"It's very kind of them, but I already have a home." Piglet said. However, he then saw how high he was and instantly became terrified and quickly covered his eyes with his hands. "Oh, d-d-d-dear!"

"Piglet!" Pooh cried out, alarmed as he quickly ran up a tree branch sticking up on the ground. "Don't leave!"

"I would if I could, but I can't!" Piglet called back.

"Jump, Piglet! We'll catch ya'! Likely as not!" Tigger yelled out. That only made Lea facepalm himself yet again, unable to believe that the tiger just made yet another comment that only ended up making things worse.

"I would if I could, but they won't let me!" Piglet replied.

"Maybe you should ask them to bring you back?" Kairi suggested, worriedly as the butterflies flew past her and the others with Piglet still in their clutches.

"I guess so." Piglet paused, before adding. "But I don't know which way back is."

Pooh giggled. "It's down here. Look."

The small, terrified animal tried to remove his arms, but found himself unable to even gaze at everyone below him, which made him cry out in defeat. "I'm too afraid to look! Oh...If only Christoper Robin was here."

Kairi sighed, folding her arms to her chest. She did remember Sora mention to her how he saved Piglet from a very blustery windy day in one of the recovered pages which restored Pooh's memories of the small animal. It made her feel awful of how many times she had to be scared no matter how hard she tried. Today with her fight against Saix was the first time she managed to break free without anyone with her even just watching. She mentally shook her head and told herself that someone had to get Piglet down.

Maybe she should try.

"Christoper Robin...!" Pooh softly said, his eyes widening as he realized something that made him smile. "Piglet, that's it! He said to me that all I had to do is that remember that you're...'Bigger than a big leaf'..."

He trailed off, realizing that didn't sound right, and tried again. "Uh, 'Bolder when you're green'?" No, that didn't sound right, either. Sighing, he then asked. "Is any of this making you less afraid?"

"I'm afraid not, Pooh." Piglet replied, still not looking down.

"Oh bother." Pooh slumped onto the tree. Why couldn't he remember? Which then made him think back to another problem. "Hmm...How to get a Piglet down who is very up? Think, think, think..."

But as Pooh was thinking, he didn't realize until too late that Piglet's foot caught caught with the bear's shirt, which pulled him up along for the ride.

"Pooh!" Kairi cried out, and ran up the branch and jumped as high as she could, grabbing hold of the bear who, having realized by then, held onto Piglet's foot. Yet now the female Keyblade Wielder was carried along for the ride. The honey pot that was left on the tree fell off. Fortunately, Tigger, eyes widened in horror, caught it just in time safely, landing into a glade of flowers.

"Uh, oh." Kairi muttered, realizing how high up she and the two animals above her were.

"Oh bother." Pooh gulped.

"Oh, excuse me. B-but i-is that you and Kairi, Pooh?" Piglet asked, still not looking but managed to recognize the voices.

Pooh looked up and replied, "Yes, Piglet. It is."

He and Kairi then noticed the Butterflies, feeling the extra weight of both of them, decided to fly away as quickly as possible, which by then only two were left. That could only mean that they would be falling sooner or later.

"Are we going down soon?" Piglet asked hopefully.

"Um...yes, we are." Kairi replied, awkwardly.

"Uh...how soon?"

Neither Kairi or Pooh had time to answer, because the next thing they and Piglet knew, all three of them went plunging straight down to a patch of wildflowers. Unaware of the incident taking place in the air, Rabbit was standing in the middle of the patch, scanning the map and trying to make sense of Owl's writing and drawings.

"Incoming!" Lea cried out, racing over and while Rabbit looked up too late, the redhead pulled him out of the way and then held up his arms to catch the trio. Instead they crashed right into his chest and tumbled to the ground and landed on his back, with Kairi, Pooh and Piglet on top of him.

"Axel! Are you alright?" Kairi asked, immediately sitting up before sliding off her friend.

"...Ow." The former Organization Member murmured.

"Sorry." The teenager girl muttered, helping both Pooh and Piglet to stand, and then offered her hand to the taller redhead who took it and helped him stand up.

Lea rolled his shoulders one at the time while saying dismissively. "Ah, don't worry 'bout it. At least you guys are back on solid ground."

"That was an amazing catch, Reddy-boy!" Tigger exclaimed happily as he hopped over, before saying to Kairi. "And you, Kairi! You saved Pooh and Piglet! Imagine, being outnumbered by fluttery boys-a _gazillion_!"

"Yes, yes, very brave indeed." Rabbit said, impatiently before pointing into another direction of more unexplored areas of the Hundred Acre Wood. "Now, if you don't mind, Christopher Robin is this way."

Kairi and the others made to follow the rabbit, when she and Pooh both noticed that Piglet wasn't talking along side them. The two turned back to see the smallest of the group gaze at the ground with a sad expression.

"Are you alright, Piglet." Pooh asked, worriedly as he and Kairi approached him.

"Yes, Pooh. Thank you." Piglet sighed. "You and Kairi saving me was very brave of you."

"Everyone gets scared, but they're also brave too. Even you." Kairi reassured.

"Why, yes. Braver than..." Pooh agreed, before adding as he couldn't remember what Christopher Robin had told him the night before. "...Something."

"I am?" Piglet asked, astonded. "Oh! What thing is that?"

"I'm not sure, Piglet." Pooh replied with a deep sigh. "If only I could remember."

Kairi looked on sadly as she watched Pooh and Piglet walk away to follow the others. It wasn't easy being brave, she knew that now. But what was easy, as much as she didn't like it, is how to be captured. Whether it was by a gentle flock of butterflies...

Or members of Organization XIII or villains who want to do horrible things to everyone else. The Princess of Heart felt that her faith in herself and her abilities as a Keyblade Wielder was shaken. She'd come so close in being drawn away, to be used against her will, for both Xehanort to use her heart to form the evil X-Blade, and to lure Sora into another trap to force him to do what the evil Keyblade Master wanted. While she did manage to fight off Saix with what Lea told her to do, what if it wouldn't work for the other Organization members?

"Kairi?" Lea's voice stirred her out of her deep thoughts, and she looked up to see him standing there. She didn't even notice him approaching and she felt guilty when he looked at her with concern. "You alright?"

"I'm fine. Just...thinking." Kairi hesitantly answered. Without giving him anymore responses, she quickly walked up ahead to catch up to Pooh and the others, leaving the red haired man gazing at her retreating form.

Watching her go made Lea even more worried. One minute she seemed fine, the next, she's...looking very doubtful. Did something happen that he was fully unaware of? Whatever it was, Kairi was trying her best to hide it without worrying him, which only made things worse. Before he could even take a step to catch up to them, Lea suddenly felt yet another painful jolt hit him in his mind that made him wince, and for a brief moment, he saw another lost memory...

* * *

_Axel had just emerged the doors and returned to the main entrance hallway after another failed attempted to find what was hidden inside Castle Oblivion, when to his surprise, and no small amount of concern despite trying to hide it, was the black-haired girl who was on her knees, holding her head in pain. Did something happen to her?_

_"Axel... What are you doing here...?" The girl asked, groaning._

_"I'm just here on orders." Axel replied, not wanting her to take a look inside this place, and mentally wondering what she was doing here. "There's nothing for you to see here."_

_"Lies!" The girl snapped, looking up at him far too quickly. "This is the place I come from. I just know it."_

_"What about your mission?" The redhead asked, changing the subject. When his friend didn't answer, he tried hard not to sound cold even though it was part of his job. "Don't be selfish."_

_"Or else they'll turn me into a Dusk?"_

_"They'll do worse than turn you into a Dusk. They'll just destroy you."_

_Axel walked up to her and offered her his hand to help her up, but she silently refused and stood up on her own. Despite not having a heart, he could feel frustration build up and he still couldn't figure out why he was feeling things that only those with a heart could feel._

_"And is that because I'm useless?" The girl asked, a bit coldly._

_"That's not it." Axel shook his head, and grabbed her by the arm when she tried to walk away. "Xi-, go home."_

_"I'm remembering things. I have memories of back when I was a human." The black haired girl informed him._

_If she was remembering things, why would that bring her here? Axel shook his head and told her. "Well, stop remembering. Nothing good will come of it."_

_"I have dreams every night. And you're in those dreams, Axel!" She exclaimed, becoming both angry and desperate._

_That, he admitted, really didn't sound right at all. "Then they sure aren't memories. How could I be a part of your past? They're just dreams, that's all."_

_The girl shook her head, "You can't fool me. We've met before, Axel, right here in this castle!"_

_"No, we have not." Axel informed her, and he knew that better than anyone. The only ones he did meet in this castle were Sora, Donald and Goofy. But that wasn't the main reason; he was aware of Xion being born here, but Axel certainly didn't meet her here._

_He then placed his hands onto her shoulders, and said, as softly as he could musture. "Let's go home, Xi-. Don't keep Roxas waiting."_

_"Please, Axel...you've got to help me!" The girl pleaded. "I need to know who I am."_

_When Axel didn't budge, to his shock and worry, the girl broke free from his grasp and ran up towards the doors._

_"Stop! Don't go in there!" He cried out, but as he hurried to catch up, the girl had already opened the doors and stepped inside, light filling up the room and he was forced to shield his eyes with his hands..._

* * *

As the memory ended, Lea breathed while catching his breath, as though he'd actually been experiencing it in reality rather than just remembering it. That memory left him more shaken than he would've liked. He somehow felt that he knew more about the girl than she did, but he didn't remember why. It left him feel cold. How was it that they both met in Castle Oblivion when they didn't?

Or did they? He couldn't remember. The redhead felt his throat feel uncomfortably dry, and while his heart was telling him that it may not be the case, but Lea began to think that his memories before he lost his heart were still not fully back. Even worse, the black haired girl didn't know who she really was either? It was obvious that Isa knew, and if he knew, so did the rest of the Organization.

Because they needed samples from him and Roxas through Sora. What was going on? Nothing was making any sense at all.

'Great. Why is it that Kairi is making me remember the girl? Sure they're almost identical, but this is ridiuclous! Just...who is that kid?' Lea thought to himself. He wanted to know the girl's name. He really did. So why was it that everytime now that he saw memories of her...

When he couldn't even remember her name?

Shaking his head and realizing he was being left behind, Lea hurried to catch to them, knowing that he would have to worry about his own problem later. For now, both Christopher Robin needed to be found...and he also needed to know why Kairi was acting so strange. She would have to tell him soon.

Whether she liked it or not.

* * *

**A/N: It seems Kairi is starting to doubt herself while Lea is seeing more memories of Xion but still cannot remember her name. What will happen to both of them next in this illusion world? Only time will tell.**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	36. Chapter 35: Uncertainty

**Author's note: Hi, and welcome back! First off, I want to thank everyone for your reviews, though I do have a few things to say regarding to the remaining worlds. As such, I kindly ask not to send in any world selecting requests for this story, please. However, Agrabah will still be here, so for those who are still looking forward to it, don't worry.**

**To visitor: I haven't seen The Lion Guard season 3 yet, but unfortunately, the Pride Lands won't be appearing. I'm really sorry about that.**

**To Let's Roll: While Beauty and the Beast will be appearing in this story, Riku and Mickey won't be going there since I finally(and hopefully) have the rest of the worlds chosen for the reminder of the story, especially with how the KH2 Credits revealed Beast returning to his human form.**

**Sorry about that, and please enjoy this story.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 35: Uncertainty.

Kairi felt awful for not telling Lea about what happened to her or what she had learned, and she knew she had to tell him. But she found herself unable to do so. She didn't want him to worry, but since the thorn forest and the meadow, she felt her confidence slowly wither away. It didn't help that she couldn't tell him now when Pooh and his friends were around. It was already bad enough that they had to worry about the Heartless and the possible threat of the Skullasaurus, she didn't want to add the Organization onto their plate of fears. Still, the fact that Saix claims that the woman they saw earlier isn't part of Xehanort's plans.

But she reminded herself that she shouldn't trust him, not because of his terrible choices of betraying Lea when their friendship had hit a rock that split their bond apart, but because Isa, the original of Saix, was a Half-Xehanort. Even though she seemed okay in fighting more Heartless as the group pushed onward even by going this way and that way to all the places that Christopher Robin wasn't but none to the places that he was, the teenage girl couldn't help but begin to think that maybe she wasn't fully ready yet.

That was a worry for later, however. For now, her and Lea's biggest concern, as the two of them and the Hundred Acre Wood residents went through many twists and turns before finally finding themselves in an open field which overlooked many tall, dark, sharp looking mountains to their left, and many of the trees looked dead, meaning that they have left the more peaceful parts of this world, that Rabbit really didn't seem to know which way he was going, but he still held confidence that he did.

"So, first we headed East by South, then South by East." Rabbit said aloud as he came to a stop on the edge of a cliff. He then unrolled the map again, unaware that Tigger, who was mimicking him, was gazing at the paper carefully. "Of course, judging from the magnetic variation minus the wind drift, we clearly go..."

He paused, before letting go of the map which unexpected rolled up around Tigger's nose, and declared while pointing into the distance. "This way!"

Rabbit then noticed what happened and in annoyance, yanked the map off Tigger's nose, causing the tiger to rub his face, wincing a little. Kairi flinched a bit, feeling sorry for Tigger as she kind of figured this was how those two always reacted. Based on Sora's description, while Rabbit and Tigger are good friends, the bunny always gets easily frustrated with almost anything, while the tiger loved to bounce all over the place.

Lea shook his head. Those two reminded him of the days when he and Isa were kids. The redhead tended to have more energy while his former best friend was usually the more mature and serious of the two. He missed those days, and hoped that he could have them, as well as his days with Roxas and the black haired girl back.

Still, he couldn't help but gaze at Kairi and frowned. For hours, she still hasn't told him what was wrong and while she said that she was fine, Lea knew otherwise. As soon as they were alone, he was going to ask her if she really was okay. He didn't want the situation with his forgotten friend all over again.

"I wonder," Pooh's voice brought everyone else's attentions as they turned to see him pointing at the tall mountains in the opposite direction that Rabbit just pointed at. "If those rather forbidding looking things might be the '_Forbidden Mountains_' where Christopher Robin is."

True to the bear's words, it did have a forbidden look to it. In fact, it reminded both Kairi and Lea of Maleficent's Forbidden Mountain in the Enchanted Dominion. What were the odds of certain mountains sharing the same name in different worlds? This made the two Keyblade Wielders come to a logical guess despite that they were still uncertain on whether Christopher Robin was at Skull or not, thta maybe the woman really was behind everything.

"You're right, Pooh!" Piglet said cheerfully.

"You found 'em, buddy bear!" Tigger cheered.

Just as Kairi and Lea shared a glance on whether or not they should follow Pooh's direction even if it did look more like the right way, Rabbit called up to everyone which had them gaze to him as he pointed in the direction he chose. "Excuse me? The way to there...is over here!"

When the others looked over the direction their apparent 'leader' was pointing at, all it lead was to more dead trees down hill and nowhere near any Forbidden Mountains. In fact, it was leading them away from them. While Kairi was wondering if Rabbit knew what he was doing, Lea was becoming even more annoyed that the bunny wasn't really reading the map properly and was just making random guesses and didn't like being wrong. He then remembered what Rabbit said about harvest day being mentioned in a book and wondered if he did everything by paper.

"But, Rabbit. Isn't that them over there?" Pooh asked as he walked over to his friend.

Rabbit just rolled his eyes with a smile and then casually walked over to the bear, and held up the map to show everyone as though to prove that he knew what he was doing. "Now, which are you going to believe? The map, or your very own eyes? Look. You see, we're right on course. It's all right here in black and white."

Kairi held a very confused expression on her face. Sometimes even maps were wrong and she was starting to think that Rabbit wasn't thinking straight. Maybe he never really did since the beginning of the journey. Maybe even before all this happened. Then again, sometimes even the eyes can decieve a person, and it didn't help with things here being an illusion.

"Why would anyone want to wander around wondering which way to go when they have a _map_ to follow?" Rabbit continued, rolling up the map. "If it says so, then it is so. If it is so, so it is! You shouldn't trust that thing between your ears, because brains will get you nowhere fast. Why, I haven't had a need of mine of years. On the printed page, that's where the truth is."

Everyone looked at him, bewildered at what he just said. Especially both Kairi and Lea as their eyes widened in disbelief. While Kairi couldn't believe that Rabbit was just as silly as one would have guessed, Lea facepalmed himself and only managed to stop himself from groaning. The rabbit really did do everything by paper!

'_I can't believe I've just met another Even! What is it with both of them and paper, for crying out loud?_' The redhead thought incredulously in his mind. Though in retrospect, at least Even still used his brains, whether they were icky ideas or just plain creepy plans. Heck, even Roxas used his brains whenever he needed to know something. All the kid had to do first was ask.

"Thank goodness we've got this, so there's no need to fret about it." Rabbit added, holding up the map.

But as he did, he wasn't paying attention as he waved the paper around until it got caught against the tip of the tree branch and as Rabbit pulled, the map gave a loud rip and to his and others's shock and horror, it was torn in half, with the upper part being blown away by the wind.

Seeing this, Rabbit hysterically panicked. "AH! Oh no! The map! Get the map! We're only half a map! W-we're less than nowhere!"

"After that map!" Tigger declared with determination. He then hopped and bounced after the paper.

Kairi and Lea made to follow, but were stopped when, to their dismay, even more Heartless appeared which forced them to summon their Keyblades. Once they were certain Pooh and his friends quickly hid in fear at the sight of the monsters, the two Keyblade Wielders quickly fought them as hard and quickly as possible. Though they knew that the Heartless had slowed them down from helping Tigger to retrieve the map.

But no sooner had they finished off the monsters, everyone jumped when they heard a loud scream echo through out the area. "_**CHRISTOPHER ROBINNNNN!**_"

"Oh! W-w-what was that?" Piglet asked, worriedly.

"Oh dear! That's Tigger!" Rabbit cried out.

"I do hope he's alright." Pooh muttered in concern.

"Let's go find him!" Kairi exclaimed, already sensing that no, Tigger wasn't alright. The others nodded in agreement, and they all ran to locate where the screaming was coming from. All seven of them eventually reached the edge of a cliff and to their shock and worry as they peered down, they saw a deep trench and gorge so high that the chances of surviving was pretty slim.

Halfway down was Tigger who was clinging onto half a dead tree that broke in half, and became stuck between two walls of rock.

"Tigger. Of all the safer places to be, I don't think this is one. You could fall." Pooh called down to his friend.

"Yeah. Well, you know what they say, _'whatever doesn't bounce up, it's gotta fall down.'_" Tigger replied, chuckling nervously as he clutched the tiny branch in front of him. He flinched when the tree began to slowly lose it's hold behind him, slowly slipping and stopping.

'_How can he make a joke in a situation like this? Unless he's trying not to panic. If that's the case, then at least he's trying._' Lea thought to himself. Even though this was no joking matter, he had to give Tigger credit for not being hysterical despite the fact that he was face a certain untimely demise. If something wasn't done soon, then the tiger was a goner.

"Well, can't you just bounce your way up?" Lea suggested.

"No way!" Tigger called. "Uh, t-the wind isn't right!"

"But, Tigger. There is no wind." Kairi pointed out.

The tiger's bottom lip quivered when he heard this. It wasn't until now that he came to a realization that he couldn't deny it anymore and sobbed in defeat. "Okay, okay, you got me! To be honest...My tail just doesn't have enough strength!"

'_Poor Tigger. Even he lost confidence in himself._' Kairi thought, sadly. The fact that he didn't think he was strong enough made her realize that finding one's strength, even from within the heart was hard to discover as well. She had believed that friendship gave one the strength they needed. It's like Sora had always said; his friends are his power, and he was theirs.

"Don't worry, Tigger." Pooh reassured. "Christopher Robin said all I have to do is remember you're... _'Taller than a beam'_."

Tigger looked up in surprise, and asked. "Really?"

It seemed, however, that Pooh still couldn't remember what Christopher Robin told him, tapping the side of his head as he muttered to himself. "Or was it..._'Slower than whipped cream'_?" He then asked. "Do you feel any bouncer now?"

"Nope." Tigger replied, sniffling. The tree then shifted a bit more.

Pooh, seeing this, then climbed down a bit lower while asking. "Um, perhaps, your tail just needs a hand. Could you bounce up this far?"

"No, no, no. Thanks for tryin'. I'm going out...the way I came in." Tigger wept, climbing up as high as he could of the tree. "A second-rate bouncer!"

"He's really given up." Kairi sighed. She desperately wished she could try and do something to make Tigger feel better. If only Sora was here...he'd know how to make someone cheer up without even trying.

"Poor kid." Lea muttered. He felt useless. Cheering others up was never his forte and even though he tried, the redhead always felt awkward. Ven had been a bit easy even though even now Lea still hadn't realized what that kid's problem was, and...and the black-haired girl...and Roxas-

His thoughts were unexpectedly cut off when not only the rock beneath Pooh crumbled, but the cliff under everyone else higher up gave way. Alarmed, Piglet managed to grab Pooh by the foot, Rabbit did the same, while unexpectedly grabbing Eeyore by the tail, while the donkey tried to grab the remaining half of the map that flew out of the bunny's hand, but missed. Instead, he ended up grabbing a long root beneath the cliff. Kairi went next as she screamed in alarm.

"Kairi!" Lea exclaimed, grabbing her by the wrist even though he went falling as well, grabbing another root just above the one Eeyore held onto. Kairi, who was thankful for her companion for reaching out to her as she gave him a smile which he returned, used her free hand to grab onto Eeyore's front leg. Though the weight of all of them caused both roots to be pulled and stretched out which made them all went descending even lower until Pooh was just above Tigger who was crying.

"Um, Tigger?" Pooh inquired, reaching out his hand to his striped friend who, hearing his voice, looked up and saw that his friends were now one long chain consisting of a mixture of animals, a teenage girl, and a red haired man in a black coat.

"Oh...Okay." Tigger sniffled, accepting Pooh's hand and held on tight. Just in time too, because the tree finally gave way and went plummeting down into the gorge below. He then proclaimed loudly. "Look at the biceps on that bear! I don't deserve to dangle from the same precipice."

If the situation had been different, especially considering just how ridiculous they must look at the moment, Lea would've laughed. As such, not only were they in serious trouble and facing impending doom, but this has got to be one of the most embarrassing things that has ever happened to him. As he held on tight on both Kairi and the root, Eeyore felt his tail being painfully tugged and threatened to be pulled off before the donkey grunted something through clutched teeth.

"What's donkey-boy sayin'?" Tigger asked.

"I said, _'Ouch!'_" Eeyore replied in annoyance, but realizing too late that he let go of the root. Fortunately, Kairi held onto him tighter, even though now Lea felt the root he was holding onto jerk even further.

But what everyone didn't see, on the other side of the cliff, was the figure of Madam Mim who, making sure that none of them were paying any attention of noticing her, snapped her fingers and in almost an instant, the root began to quickly break. That, Lea and Kairi noticed and their eyes as well as everyone else's widened. Though the two Keyblade Wielders could've sworn they sensed presence above them, they couldn't see as while the witch quickly vanished before they could get a full glimpse of her even though they were in time to see her disappear, their biggest fears were the vines.

"Uh oh!" Lea yelped. This...was really bad!

As they feared, the root finally snapped and soon Tigger, Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, Eeyore, Kairi and Lea plunged into the deep crevice down below with a series of screams which soon faded.

* * *

Piglet, somehow managing to survive, emerged from the muddy, shallow mud river before shaking it off. That had been close. He then saw a large monster emerge and cried out, "Yike!"

However, the 'thing' shook off the mud revealing to be Pooh, with the honey pot floating up while he reassured his friend. "Don't worry, Piglet. It's only me."

Piglet sighed in relief, only to see two more, even larger things emerge from the mud, much, much taller which caused him to yelp again. "Yike!"

"Don't worry, Piglet. It's only Kairi and Axel." Pooh reassured again, and true to his word, the two Keyblade Wielders shook off the mud off themselves, even though it was more difficult to get it out of their hair.

"It's okay, Piglet. There's no need to be scared." Kairi added softly, even though she was very stunned that they had somehow managed to survive. What looked like to be at least five thousand feet up strangely felt more like a short drop. A very short drop, only only five or three feet. What could have caused their survival other than the unexpected huge splash in the mud?

"Ugh...I feel like a drowned rat." Lea complained. It was going to take forever to get his hair right. The first thing he was going to do was find a nice, clean water river to take a bath, and then when he and Kairi finished their test, he was taking a nice, long shower and maybe consider trying on his new clothes.

Just as Piglet sighed in relief again, three more, though smaller then Kairi and Lea, things emerged slowly from the mud behind the duo. "YIKE!"

"Now, don't worry, Piglet. It's only Tigger, Rabbit and Eeyore." Pooh chuckled, just as the said trio shook the mud off of themselves, and Rabbit somehow managed to grab hold of the half of the map he let go earlier. To add to the sudden miracle, the other half floated down towards them.

"The map!" Rabbit said happily, snatching it and hugged both halves of the paper. "We have it! We can go now!"

"See? Nothing to be afraid of." Kairi said to Piglet who smiled and nodded...only for a now familiar monster growl echo in the air, to which all excitement and relief instantly became replaced by worry and fear. This only made the Princess of Heart mutter softly, and sheepishly. "...Except for that."

"I'm afraid Kairi's right, Piglet." Pooh agreed, pointing fearfully into the direction the growl was coming from. "It's the Skullasaurus."

"Annnnd that's our cue to go." Lea muttered, and while he still held the doubt of the source of the monster, everything that's happened in this world so far made him second-guessing.

No one else argued with him, and with horror and fear in their hearts and on their expressions, the group quickly got up and ran as fast as they could, hoping to return to their original path to find Skull.

* * *

A couple hours later, Kairi, Lea, Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore were following Rabbit who, despite the map being in half, still tried to read it. After cleaning themselves off, the group continued onward and going through the mountains Pooh noticed earlier. Though not only had night began to appear, but the area they were now in had gotten so foggy that it was getting more and more difficult to see. On top of that, Rabbit still had no clue on where they were...and it was more apparent now.

"Do you know which way Christopher Robin is, from here, Rabbit?" Pooh asked, causing his friend to stop, which made everyone else pause as well.

An awkward pause.

"Well...there's this way of course." Rabbit replied, going to the right, then stopped. That didn't look right. He back-tracked and tried going foward again, but once again stopped once he realized that would only take them further from where they were or needed to be. He then tried going to the left and walked a couple of paces before stopping. By then, as everyone else were watching him silently, he came to a single conclusion.

'_Great. Now we're definitely lost._' Lea grumbled in his mind. It figured that Rabbit lost his sense of direction and had taken them on a random detour. For all they knew since the fog started up, they could've been walking around in circles and didn't even know it.

"Now, if Christopher Robin was here, what would he say? Well, he'd say..." Rabbit began...and after a moment pause, he broke down hysterically. "I can't function in this humidity! It's not my fault! But this fog isn't even on the map!"

He then collapsed onto the ground and sobbed. "I'm just not smart enough to know where to go, or what to do!"

Kairi felt her heart break when she heard this. First Piglet couldn't find his courage, then Tigger's strength failed him, and now Rabbit lost his faith within himself of his intelligence. Yes, Sora hadn't always been the smartest of the three, but then Kairi always needed guidance herself. For example, if she hadn't thought of taking Lea's lessons of how to free herself seriously, she wouldn't be here right now. So, she knew what even Rabbit was going through. Even worse, she had no idea how to make him feel better.

"Don't worry." Pooh reassured, as another vague memory of what his best, best friend had told him. "At times like this, Christopher Robin told me that all I have to do is remember."

"Remember what?" Rabbit asked, looking up in surprise.

Another pause.

"I forget. But it's something like..." Pooh admitted, then responded. "_'You're smarter when you're pink'_. Does that help?"

Rabbit shook his head and stood up, sighing deepily. "No. I don't know where we are and where we aren't. I haven't known for _hours_. I've failed us all."

Feeling sadness in his heart, Pooh placed a paw onto his friend's shoulder, muttering in defeat. "I believe, I have as well."

"Me too." Kairi admitted, rubbing her left arm. "I'm sorry. I tried to help, I really did. But...on my own, I can't do anything much at all."

"Kairi..." Lea whispered, concerned yet feeling a bit down himself. While he still had no idea what happened earlier that caused his usually confident friend to feel like this, it gave him memories of how Roxas began to doubt his existence...and so did that black-haired girl. Yet he felt like he let everyone down too. He'd been unable to save them, unable to bring Isa back to his senses. His only lucky breaks were saving Sora three or four times.

On top of that, Pooh and his friends had now given up all hope, and felt like they would never see Christopher Robin ever again. No matter how hard they tried, it became clear that they couldn't do anything without him, let alone know what the outside world was really like.

"Let's face it." Tigger sighed. "Without Christopher Robin, we don't stand a chance in finding Christopher Robin."

Lea wanted to desperately say not to give up, and that today was just a bump in the road. But he remained silent, deciding that not wasn't the good time to try and get everyone's hopes up despite that one shouldn't give up in just one day. Besides, he was feeling a little depressed himself. All these memories coming back to him and he still had no clue the full name of the mysterious Xi.

Kairi looked away, feeling guilty for not having to have done much other than fighting off the Heartless and helped to save Piglet earlier. They were nowhere near closer in finding the missing boy, and even though she didn't want to give up, it was hopeless. Was this how Sora felt when he tried to find her and Riku, but had been no closer at first? How Donald and Goofy felt while trying to locate King Mickey?

How Aqua felt while being trapped in the Realm of Darkness for so long to the point of just giving up all hope, that had caused her heart to fall into corruption? Her only hope now being the Key to Return Hearts...but what help can Kairi really do if she came so close in being captured again?

It wasn't until she noticed an opening of a nearby cave on the side of the mountain. Seeing that it was a decent place to rest for the night, Kairi called up to the others. "Let's rest in there until the mist disappears."

Seeing what Kairi was pointing out, Lea shrugged while everyone else nodded in agreement, before they all strolled towards it, while Eeyore muttered aloud. "End of the road. Nothing to do, and no hope of things getting better. Sounds like Saturday night at my house."

* * *

_"Hey, Grandma?" Four year old Kairi asked, as she was holding hands with her grandmother as they were walking along together, leaving a large castle behind._

_"What is it?" The kind elderly woman queried._

_"Could you tell me that story?"_

_"Again, dear?" She chuckled._

_"Pleeease?" The little girl asked._

_"Very well, then." Her grandmother replied, and Kairi giggled happily._

_"Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light.  
__Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They  
__wanted to keep it for themselves." _

_"And darkness was born in their hearts.  
__The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts.  
__It covered everything, and the world disappeared. But small fragments of  
__light survived, in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light,  
__children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the  
true light sleeps deep within the darkness." _

_"That's why the worlds are  
__still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door will open  
__to the innermost darkness will open, and the true light will return.  
__So, listen, child."_

_"Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be  
__a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will  
__never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the  
__darkness away."_

_Little Kairi nodded, beaming a bright smile at her grandmother's words...which all of this was witnessed by the older Kairi who, not understanding where she was or how she got here since she remembered falling asleep in a cave and then found herself here._

_"Grandma?" Kairi queried, watching her youngerself walk away. She then gasped when both of them faded and disappeared like ghosts. Just as she was about to rush over, the entire area around her disappeared into darkness, making her stop._

_Whirling around in rapidly increasing fear, Kairi then sensed movement and spun around to see the shockingly familiar glowing white silhouette's of who she recognized as Aurora, Jasmine, Belle, Cinderella, Alice and Snow White, before the lights faded and flew into six others, which she didn't recognize. But each of them was with someone, six young men who appeared but too blurry to see who they were. She then saw them fade and become replaced by a familiar figure, one close to her own heart._

_But to her horror and confusion, the figure looked like he was made of stone. "...Sora?"_

_"__**Do not believe you are like that boy, Princess.**__" A dark, cruel voice spoke, far too close behind her._

_Shuddering and softly gasping in fear, and suddenly finding herself bind in chains of darkness, Kairi struggled and whimpered while trying to free herself, only able to look over her shoulder, and her heart froze up. The dark, glowing red and purple silhouette of the figure from her earlier nightmare's appeared, with the same gothic Keyblade in hand, raised over his head._

_"__**You were born for only one purpose. Nothing more than a mere puppet to go to your destiny. Your time is up.**__" The figure spoke evilly, glowing golden cold eyes gleaming at her._

_"L-let me go!" Kairi exclaimed, but was unable to do anything. As such, she could only watch in horror as the figure trust his Keyblade right down to her back and all she could do was squeeze her eyes shut, bracing herself for her death as she screamed..._

* * *

Jolting upright with a terrified gasp, Kairi panted far too quickly and feeling cold. The feeling of fear almost holding her in it's grasp like a giant with a clawed hand squeezing her tightly. Trying to get her bearings, the Princess of Heart looked around and found that she was back where she originally had been. The cave where everyone were resting for the time being, the dim remains of the campfire being the only light, the fading embers still enough to light the darkness. Piglet was sleeping against Eeyore who was curled up. Tigger was on his back, apparently snoring. Rabbit was leaning against a rock, using the torn up map like a blanket. Lea was lying on the ground, giving an occasional soft snore himself.

But there was no sign of Pooh.

The adrenaline of fear and fresh memories of what she realized now was another nightmare coming and going between her concern for the bear, it hadn't taken her long to figure out that he couldn't sleep due to missing Christopher Robin so much. Deciding that she was too shaken now to fall back asleep herself, Kairi stood up and silently crept out of the cave to find Pooh and heard his voice before she even reached the opening.

"I _tried_ to find you, Christopher Robin." He was heard, and Kairi knew, he was both depressed and heartbroken. Peering from the opening, there she saw in the small distance, was Pooh with the honey jar in his arms, walking up a hill where a dead tree stood, most of it vanished into the thick layer of mist above him.

"I've looked in all the places you weren't. I just can't find the places you are. Perhaps, if I were to wish very, very hard. I don't know what else to do, except to try to dream of you. I wonder if you're dreaming too, wherever you are." Pooh was saying aloud, sadness very clear. He then yawned while leaning against a tree, and after a few yawns, slowly feel asleep.

"Poor Pooh. He must feel so lonely." Kairi whispered to herself, leaning against the wall behind her as she gazed sideways out to the bear. She knew what was like; how she waited for a year before being able to see both Sora and Riku again. How she didn't want to lose them, especially Sora, when he sacrificed himself to save her. How he...disappeared for a while, and how her light brought him back.

Those thoughts brought her back to what she witnessed in her dream; her childhood self, her grandmother which she still barely remembered now, and felt guilty about it. The story of the light and darkness. Then...the lights she witnessed flowing from the now former Princesses of Heart into what she realized were their successors. Kairi then seeing a frozen statue of Sora, before being captured by the cruel, evil man she was almost certain was Master Xehanort...and what he said to her before he raised his Keyblade...to kill her.

_"__**You were born for only one purpose. Nothing more than a mere puppet to go to your destiny.**__"_

Born with only one purpose...the purpose in just being a Princess of Heart, one of the keys of opening the Door to Darkness, and forming the horrible X-Blade? Kairi rubbed her arms, shuddering in fear, while also remembering what Saix had told her. Even he believed she wouldn't survive long enough for the War. Whether she fought alongside everyone else, or be held prisoner with six of the new Seven Lights, Kairi couldn't help but feel like it wouldn't matter, no matter what she did.

"Can't sleep?"

Startled slightly out of her thoughts, Kairi looked up to see Lea stand next to her, with a look of concern. She hadn't even heard him coming, and realized that she had been really deep into her musings.

"I was worried about Pooh." She confessed, gazing out at the sleeping form of the bear again.

Lea gazed out at the aforementioned bear, before sighing and muttered. "Not that I blame ya' for it, there's something else. I can tell, especially since you haven't been yourself since...well, since you went off looking for Piglet. So, what's going on?"

"...Was I that obvious?" Kairi muttered. She had hoped that no one would even notice, before realizing that Lea knew better.

"Well, yeah, there's that. It's just...um..." The taller redhead began, rubbing the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed. "To be honest, I'm worried 'bout you."

Seeing how now was the time to admit what had happened, Kairi took a deep, but somewhat shuddering breath, before confessing in guilt. "...I was attacked...by Isa."

"What!?" Lea softly gasped, with no small amount of shock. How come he hadn't sensed or heard anything?

"He froze time, like he did to meet us before we went to help Pinocchio to rescue his father." Kairi continued. "I was forced to fight him, and nearly lost."

Well, that at least answered his question. '_Darn you, Isa! You went out to try and get Kairi and did that without _me_ realizing it!?_' He thought angrily.

"But he let you go?" The redhead queried, doing his best not to let his anger get the better of him.

"Sort of." Kairi admitted, forcing herself to glance up at Lea with a ghostly small proud smile that was weak none the less. "I stomped his foot and used my Flower Shoot on his face as soon as he was forced to release me."

He almost laughed in relief when he heard this, though he did chuckle softly. "Glad to hear that you had my advice memorized." And even though it had been Isa, Lea knew that his former best friend wouldn't be on his good side again until the War was over, and even then, once Saix returned to normal, things wouldn't be the same again for either of them straight away...if ever.

Kairi's smile faded to sadness, as she continued. "It was a split second thinking. If I hadn't...he would've taken me to Xehanort, and be held prisoner along with the other new Princesses."

"Huh? New Princesses?" Lea blinked, even though he was horrified to hear that Saix had been sent to retrieve Kairi, though that still didn't explain why he just left her alone. "So, why'd he back off when you did that? Unless he's gonna try again later."

"Maybe. He said that, when we fought, it was all a test to see if I'm able to fight without being kidnapped, and when I freed myself, he said that...that I passed. I don't know if he was telling the truth or not, but he mentioned that the Organization's now looking for New Seven Lights, because the other Princesses somehow passed on their powers to new Princesses." Kairi explained.

"But you're the only one who hasn't found a successor yet." Lea stated, reading along the lines of what his friend was saying. "Which makes you not only a Guardian of Light, but one of the new Seven Lights since you're still a Princess of Heart. No offense."

Kairi nodded, not offended at all, and she knew why. "I think the girl Sora mentioned to me, back in the dream before you and I fought Monstro, is one of the new Princesses and Marluxia is or was trying to capture her. I think Sora said that her name is Rapunzel."

"So, basically, Isa tested you to see if you're worthy in fighting instead of just waiting to be kidnapped without getting captured or not, and that you're still on Xehanort's target list just in case we fail to form our seven Guardians of Light?" Lea finalized. Something about this just still didn't make any sense. Why would Xehanort allow that to happen if he could've just gone off and pick up easier targets if Sora was taking too long in saving Aqua?

Or maybe that's why he was targeting the Princesses and Kairi, because Aqua could be beyond saving and so was Ventus since the only way to find his body was to save her. Maybe that old man was getting too impatient. Well, it's not like he was getting any younger, and that didn't count that he used the body of some poor other guy as a vessel to live longer.

"...I almost got kidnapped. I panicked, and...even before we fought, I was scared." Kairi confessed, gazing at the ground in distress. "Even now...I'm so scared, Axel. It...it doesn't help that I just had another nightmare, and that's what woke me up and I noticed that Pooh wasn't asleep."

She paused, before continuing. "At first, it seemed like a memory. Back when I was a little girl, and my grandmother told me the story, of light within the darkness. Then, every thing vanished around me, and...I saw the Princesses and their lights disappearing into new lights. Then there was Sora and...he...I don't know what happened to him, but...he turned into a statue, and then the next thing I knew...I was captured by a cruel man with a dark Keyblade..."

By then, Kairi was beginning to quicken uncontrollably, saying everything almost in one breath, as tears began to form in her eyes. "...Then he...he tried to strike me down...! And I couldn't-I couldn't do anything...! If I couldn't do that, and I almost lost to Isa...what good am I in the war if I just let everyone down?"

Lea's eyes widened in shock and guilt as Kairi then broke down into tears, and found himself frozen. It was already bad enough that he broke down unexpectedly, and he usually felt embarrassed whenever the black-haired girl made such compliments, such as calling him sweet, but this...this was a whole new level. The usually happy teenage girl in front of him was in such distress that he felt frozen in his place, not sure what to do, or what to say. He wanted to desperately try anything to comfort her.

But he couldn't. Because he wasn't experienced in how to cheer up a sad person.

"H-hey, c'mon. Don't think like that. Who says that you let anybody down? Seriously, don't let those words or nightmares get to ya, okay?" Lea stuttered, gently placing a hand onto Kairi's bare shoulder. This didn't seem to work and he sighed a groan. He was seriously not good of this sort of thing.

"C'mon, calm down. Please?" Lea softly pleaded. "You're a lot stronger than you think you are."

Kairi forced herself to slowly look up, revealing her tear soaked face which made Lea winch, but he tried to ignore it, as he gave her a supporting smile. "You haven't let me down, yet. Besides, if I remembering hearing the story correctly, you brought Sora back from being a Heartless, 'cause ya' never gave up on him. And from what you told me, you fought off and knocked out Heartless when ya' first got your Keyblade. You even knocked off Isa on your first solo fight, and that I gotta say is really impressive. Better than me, anyway."

"Axel..." Kairi muttered, trailing off.

"Fighting isn't easy, and we both know that. Then again, neither is facing your fear. But you managed to do that today, and I'm real proud of you. You keep that up and remember those lessons, you'll be able to do it without even realizing it. And, between you and me..." Lea trailed off, before shrugging a little bit, utterly embarrassed but decided to at least tell someone. "...I'm scared, too."

Kairi blinked in surprise, as Lea added. "And it doesn't take a whole lot to get big, ol' Axel freaked out. Just because fear can lead to darkness, doesn't mean you're not allowed to feel it. You can either let it get to you and go crazy with obbession of whatever that'll lead you to darkness, or face it and think about what's the most important to you. Who's the most important to you. Got it memorized?"

He was right. Kairi did almost let her fears get to her, but what she thought was just a helpful memory that got her out, was not only a desperate thinking, but also her determination. Not just help save the Realm of Light, but also to help her friends, her allies, in order to stop Xehanort's plot to destroy everything. And to think that Lea was not only worried, but scared too. It's like he said, though. They had to focus on facing their fears if they wanted to protect who and what were most important.

Which, Kairi realized, was what she had been doing. She faced her fears and only her close bond with Sora had been enough to bring him back, to help him fight the Heartless, confronting Lea for the first time since after Axel had sacrificed himself and that she had come to learn the sweeter side of him, that he changed to who he used to be as a teenager but better due to his friendship with Roxas, and the girl who resembled to her. Today was just a bit of a slip up, and while Saix may have gone easy on her, Kairi had managed to fight a member of the Organization on her own, and managed to escape his grasp.

"Yeah. Very memorized." Kairi replied, wiping away her tears, and beamed a grateful smile at the man who she once feared was now her friend. "Thank you, Axel."

Lea nodded, glad that his friend was doing okay now and that he, surprisingly to himself, managed to make her feel better. Who would've thought that he had it in him to do this? Then jumped a little, startled when Kairi then hugged him tightly and resting her head against his chest. The redhead could only stand there, unmoving, too stunned at first to do anything. Then, looking around to make sure no one else was watching, once he was certain that it was just them widely awake, he awkwardly hugged her back.

They like this until Kairi ended the hug and they let each other go, the Princess of Heart, still with some doubt within herself, feeling better than she had been before before she and Lea, relieved that his friend would be alright, headed back into the cave to get some more sleep.

* * *

Even though the ground wasn't the best place to sleep and the chilling morning air from outside the cave stirred her awake, Kairi had to admit that she slept better than she would've thought. Maybe it was because Lea, usually 'Mr-Big-and-Tough', had made her feel better and despite that she could sense doubt within him, he wasn't willing to fully give up. Even though things hadn't turned out the way everyone would've liked yesterday, she hoped that today they would find Christoper Robin.

After all, finding a missing friend didn't take just one day.

Still, if the Organization wasn't behind this despite wanting to capture her, and, if Saix was telling the truth, hadn't had that old woman to mess things up, who was she and what did she want? Could see really be the one holding Christopher Robin prisoner, or...

"Oh, DEAR!" An unexpected hollar interrupted her thoughts.

Kairi jolted up right for the second time in less than twenty four hours, this time in alarm as she caught glimpse of Piglet running around in a panic outside of the cave. Alarmed and feeling Lea cry out in alarm, the Princess of Heart stood up quickly and raced outside to see what was wrong.

"Piglet, what is it!?" The teenage girl cried out, following the terrified and panicking small animal, who had also woken up Pooh since the bear also went up to him. Piglet looked as though he'd seen a ghost, or worse...a monster.

"Sku-sk-sk-skee-sk-sku-sk!" Piglet was panicking, leaping into Pooh's arms in fear. By then, Lea, Rabbit, Tigger and Eeyore, the latter two still somewhat groggy from their unexpected wake up call, approached and stood around the others.

"Try to be specific!" Rabbit demanded, having heard enough.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, little guy. You're actin' like you've seen a ghost." Lea inquried.

"Piglet. What happened?" Kairi asked, more gently.

"Sk-sk-sku-sku-sku-!" Piglet continued to stammer before finally realizing he was in Pooh's arms, and despite still having fear in his voice, he turned to point at what was behind Kairi and everyone else, and softly finally announced. "Skull."

Eyes widening at Piglet's words, Kairi and everyone else slowly turned around and her hands flew up to her mouth to muffle her gasp in shock and horror. Lea was speechless as his jaw dropped open in disbelief. Pooh and his friend all quickly held onto each other with terrified screams at the sight before them. A steep-sided cliff on the face of the mountain, cut into the incline were three large holes. The two on top were almost perfect circles and resembled eye holes, with the third one being the opening, which the group had been sleeping in without even realizing it. In addition to the numerous shadows concealing the rock's interior, the mist had mostly faded, allowing more of the mountain to be visible. It strongly resembled to that of a skull.

"...You've gotta be kidding me." Lea muttered, still in a state of shock. Somehow it didn't feel like it was as big as it looked and he had no idea why, but still certainly fit the whole place to it.

"Christopher Robin's in the eye of that _thing!?_" Tigger asked, incredulously.  
"How do we get up there?"

"Well, we can't climb up. The rocks are too steep." Kairi stated, unable to believe that the cave she advised her friends to sleep in had been the very place they tried to reach and had unknowingly made it. If anything, it's appearance alone, despite feeling that it wasn't as terrifying as it looked and for a split second thought it was a lot smaller when she blinked, was giving her the creeps.

"Maybe...through there?" Pooh nervously pointed at the cave's entrance, gazing at the darkness of the tunnel within. The inside of the tunnel had a series of passages zigzagging deep into the face of the rock. The further the caverns went, the more intense the darkness seemed to become. On top of all that, a strong wind was blowing through which also made haunting noises.

"Yeah...I'd say you're right." Lea sighed, resigned to that fact. It's like Kairi said, the rocks were too steep to climb up, and there wasn't any other way besides going through the carven up ahead.

"But it's dark." Tigger shivered.

Piglet gulped, stuttering. "And f-f-f-frightful!"

"And none of us have any idea what we'll find." Rabbit added.

Just then, a very loud growl echoed through out the region which made everyone jump. Eyes widening as everyone were suddenly filled with dread, Eeyore ran straight into the cave while exclaiming fearfully, "But we know what's gonna find us!"

"The Skullasaurus!" Piglet exclaimed as he and everyone else darted inside as well, not wanting to wait around as they feared the worst.

"Time to go!" Lea exclaimed, letting Kairi go ahead of him before following closely behind.

Unaware that Saix was watching from above the very eye of the cavern with an unamused expression, as he muttered to himself, in a hint of disbelief. "Unbelievable. Do they even realize where that irritating noise is _really_ coming from?"

Knowing that he wasn't going to get an answer, Saix then vanished into darkness, as he had another thing to do before he could report to Xehanort, who at the moment was unaware of where the blue haired man really was. While he knew that he couldn't linger here forever or keep vanishing to this place, he had to make it count. Besides, it was a test for both Lea and Kairi to see if they were worthy of participating in the upcoming war.

* * *

Not even fifteen minutes has passed since Kairi, Lea, Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit and Eeyore entered the dark and creepy cave, with rows of stalactites hung from above and some stalagmites rose from the floor. The occasional dripping of water could be heard as the group proceeded further and further into the darkness of the cave.

More than anything, the two Keyblade Wielders to feel the presence of darkness and that made them feel even more uncomfortable. Especially Kairi, but she tried her best to force down her nervous system. They came this far, she wasn't going to back down now. She and Lea both had to crawl through another hole once Pooh and his friends ducked and walked through, though both Piglet and Eeyore didn't need to do that. It was a bit awkward for Lea, since he had to wiggle and squirm before he managed to squeeze himself out of the tiny hole.

"Kairi?" Lea spoke up as he stood, while the teenage girl turned to glance at him. "If I ever remember the girl's name and see her again, please remind me to never mention this to her or Roxas. Or baring that, to Isa if I'm able to knock some sense into him."

Realizing what he meant to be being a grown man, Kairi tried to hide her giggles and replied, trying hard not to tease Lea. "Not even to Sora or Ventus."

"Hey, I can't help it that I'm tall." Lea mocked a pout, chuckling a little. He was glad to see Kairi laughing, even if they were in a wrong place to do so.

After calming down, the two Keyblade Wielders hurried up ahead to catch up to the others, which only took a couple of steps. The reason for that is because Pooh's group came a stop when they and both Kairi and Lea saw that the main road was splitting off into five separate paths, with each one heading into a different direction.

"N-n-now which way to the eye of the skull?" Piglet asked, nervously.

A moment of silence, before all eyes went over to Rabbit, who was still clutching the map in his hands. He quickly shook his head, "Don't look at me!"

"Hmm...Taking each one in a group would take a lot longer than we would like, and who knows what kind of danger Christopher Robin is in." Kairi thought deeply. Besides that, despite that she knew how terrible Rabbit felt due to doing everything by the book as long as she had known him, and wondered if Sora knew about this.

"Oh, bother." Pooh sighed, handing Piglet the honey pot, before tapping himself on the head as he thought of a way to figure out what to do. "Think, think...think. If each of us went, where the other one hasn't...and one were where another wasn't...perhaps I mean to say, that maybe we should...split up?"

"Why, Pooh bear!" Rabbit exclaimed, amazed. "For a bear with a very little brain, that is a very smart idea."

"It's a brilliant plan, buddy boy! Hoo hoo hoo hoo!" Tigger cheered happily.

"I'm so glad you like it." Pooh laughed, before stopping as he muttered, confused. "Whatever...it was."

Lea sighed, facepalm himself again. It figures that since Pooh really did have a small brain, it's no wonder he can only get his name and the names of his friends memorized and nothing else. The poor bear was easily forgetful, which didn't help matters on what Christopher Robin told him earlier. Still, he felt uneasy as, with the Heartless around, he didn't think splitting up was such a good idea.

From the expression he noticed on Kairi's face, neither did she. With Heartless around, and other possible dangers, who knew what would happen. Still, it was a faster way to find the missing kid, and only time would tell before they would either find Christopher Robin...Or enemies that were waiting within the darkness of this place.

It was then decided that Kairi would go with Pooh, while Lea decided to go with Tigger even though he felt bad for having the others go on their own, but there were only two Keyblade Wielders.

Despite that this was the last stretch of this journey, none of them knew what they were about to face up ahead.

* * *

**A/N: Had to make this chapter a bit shorter since I didn't want to make it too long or the next chapter too short. As such, the next chapter will be the last of the Hundred Acre Wood arc before we return to Sora and the others in the Realm of Light. However, I won't be able to write after tomorrow due to a family gathering I'm going to and I don't want to miss it.**

**See you later!**


	37. Chapter 36: Inner Strengths

**Author's note: Not much to say here, so let's continue onward, shall we?**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 36: Inner Strengths.

Kairi and Pooh went up ahead on the path in front of them, reluctantly leaving Piglet to go onto the path to the right before finding themselves in a tunnel. Piglet meanwhile found himself nervously walking on a narrow path on the wide edge with steam slowly flowing from the side. Rabbit walked through a long, twisted path into a deep, dark tunnel leading deep into the cave. Eeyore was walking along a stone bridge that was high up from a gorge with sharp rocks and vines.

Each one including Lea and Tigger calling out for Christoper Robin, the dark, creepy cave making them even more nervous, and the occasional growling echoing all around them. So far, there hadn't been any signs of Heartless or other monsters.

"Christopher Robin? Yoo-hoo!" Eeyore called out. Unfortunately, just as he just reached the middle of the bridge, it almost instantly broke apart underneath him and before the donkey knew it, he went plummeting down below, screaming aloud. "YEOOOOW!"

Just when he thought he was done for, Eeyore got caught on the vines which slowed his descending, before it sling-shot him to the side. He then was saved by a dead tree shaped like a clawed hand which then tossed up upward until finally he got his head stuck on another tree branch that was oddly shaped like a monster's head with branches sticking out like a series of horns.

What he didn't know was that his screaming not only scared Piglet who, thinking it was a monster close by, ran away in a panic and made everyone else even more nervous. Though to the Keyblade Wielders in both paths they'd chosen, they thought that the scream sounded familiar.

* * *

"What's that!?" Rabbit yelped, whirling around to see what it was. When he saw nothing and the screaming faded, he gulped while trying to calm himself down, slowly backing away. "Uh-heh-heh. No need to panic. Nothing to be afraid of. It-it's just the wind. Nothing at all-AAAAAAHHHHH!"

He hadn't looked where he was going and before the bunny knew it, he stumbled into a hole too quickly and went falling into the darkness while screaming. It wasn't long before he went tumbling along the tube-like tunnel, rolling up and down with no control and this seemed to go on forever.

* * *

Piglet kept on running while looking over his shoulder, too afraid to even look ahead just in case whatever made that scary noise might catch him. That was his mistake, because he then ended up slipping along tiny pieces of rock in front of him and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop himself and cried out in alarm. Although it finally ended, he fell off a cliff despite trying to hold on, and landed on top of the tree that Eeyore was currently stuck on, or in, depending on how you look at it.

The force of it caused the tree to break off the wall and both Eeyore and Piglet fell, the former landing on another path in a thankfully short drop. But when the latter landed onto his back, Eeyore felt as though something awful began to attack him, which made him leap up and panic before running away as fast as he could. Piglet, seeing his friend's shadow with the tree still stuck on his head, thought it was a monster and cowered, covering his eyes once more in fear.

However, Eeyore saw a hole up ahead and, realizing it was too low for him, tried to skid to a stop. But while he made it through with Piglet and the tree breaking off entirely, neither one could completely stop as they went sliding from the solid ground to slippery crystal floor.

* * *

"Christopher Robin? Where are you?" Kairi called out into the darkness, but she and Pooh still received no answer. All they got was her own voice echoing. It's been at least ten or seven minutes since everyone split up and this particular part of the tunnel was just...empty. Aside from a couple of Heartless which she defeated while protecting Pooh, there'd been nothing.

But as they kept on going, they first heard a loud scream, which Kairi thought was familiar. Then came another which echoed and caused both her and Pooh to stop and look back to where they came from.

"Rabbit?" Pooh muttered. This was then followed by another one, sounding all panicked, followed by a loud, familiar irritated voice exclaiming '_Ow! Hey!_' which first had the bear ask again. "Tigger?"

"Axel?" Kairi echoed, recognizing the second voice. Soon another followed, and her worries only increased.

"Piglet?" Pooh asked again, recognizing the fourth voice.

When the screamed faded, and both of them hoped that their friends were okay, they reluctantly moved on ahead even though Kairi knew that Lea can take care of himself and Tigger. They heard another voice, this time the same sound that came before the screams of the others and now Kairi was certain it was familiar.

"Eeyore?" Pooh called out, confirming the teenage girl's thoughts. As Kairi wondered what happened to all five of the others, she and Pooh stepped into a narrow corridor behind a tower of shiny, transparent crystals.

Unaware that not only it made their reflections go all funny shaped due to the crystals as they walked by, on the other side of the crystal room, Rabbit's voice could be heard until his unexpected and very uncomfortable ride came to a sudden stop when he fell out of the hole face first and landed flat on the flat surface of crystal that strongly resembled to glass, the rolled up map bonking him on the head once and landed next to him. He just laid there with an bewildered expression for a moment or two.

* * *

"Christopher Robin? Christopher Robin?" Tigger called out, peering and bouncing around the rocks, already far ahead of Lea who had to try and keep up with him. The two of them had been searching for several minutes, though to the redhead, it felt like hours and hours.

If anything, the former Nobody was starting to think that the kid wasn't even here despite the Heartless around. Though if Saix was still around, or whoever that lady they saw yesterday was was hiding somewhere, Lea just hoped that Kairi wouldn't get ambushed. At the same time, he knew he couldn't hover around her like he was her babysitter. Only way to make sure she was okay was to meet up with her and Pooh. Maybe they or any one of the others had better luck in finding Christopher Robin.

"Come out, come out, wherever you aren't." Tigger called out for what felt like a millionth time by now.

As Lea still carefully scanned the area, when he looked up ahead to say something to the tiger, he jumped slightly as when Tigger looked into a rock with hole in it, a swarm of bats flew out, screeching which scared the tiger so much that he ran further down the passage, screaming. Gasping, the Keyblade Wielder made to follow, but one of the flying animals accidentally crashed into his face.

"Ow! Hey!" He yelled, about to grab the animal. Fortunately, the bat flew off to catch up to the rest of it's kind. The redhead glared at it's direction, grumbling. "Try watchin' where you're going."

Sighing, Lea turned to follow Tigger, only to be blocked off by more Heartless, a few taking bat forms. Groaning, he summoned his Keyblade before making quick work of slashing and slicing and burning them as quickly as possible even though it delayed his attempt to catch up to the others. As soon as he was done, he sprinted quickly up the passage, coming up to a large opening where he saw Tigger screaming for help...and not looking where he was going. On the glass surface was Rabbit who, recovering from his unexpected ride, sat up and saw the tiger approaching him.

Lea stopped just at the entrance, and he and Rabbit then heard screaming from from the latter's right where Eeyore and Piglet were sliding towards him. Rabbit tried to move out of the way, but ended up slipping.

"Watch out, guys!" Lea cried out, but it was too late. All four animals all collided into one another in a matter of seconds in a great big loud crash, as the impact caused all of them to slide straight into a cluster of transparent crystals, shattering several in the process. The redhead winched in sympathy.

Ooh, that oughta hurt.

Sighing while shaking his head, Lea carefully ran up towards them without slipping, but missed the last step and with an surprised yelp, slipped and landed hard onto his back, hitting his head on the hard glass.

"Ow! Ugh...I hate this place." He complained, just lying there for a moment close to the others.

"Axel! Tigger! Rabbit! Eeyore!" Piglet cried out in relief, recognizing everyone.

"Thanks for noticin'." Eeyore sighed.

Rubbing the sore spot on back of his head, Lea stood up slowly before dusting himself off, stating to Piglet, Rabbit and Eeyore. "I'm gonna make a wild guess here and say that you guys haven't seen any trace of Christoper Robin, or even Kairi and Pooh yet. Right?"

"N-no." Piglet shook his head after he and three of his friends untangled themselves and stood up.

"Not yet." Rabbit sighed, rubbing his head.

"Not even once." Eeyore muttered glumly.

Well, that was a bust for all five of them. The red haired man sighed, placing his hands on his hips before saying. "Well, guess our only way through is through that tunnel up ahead. But maybe Kairi and Pooh are luckier than we are."

Another loud growl, even louder and closer this time broke everyone's thoughts of even continuing the conversation. It echoed around the carven and everyone froze before gazing around. Rabbit was the first to spot the source, and with a shaking finger, exclaimed. "There it is! There it is!"

Everyone else turned to see and while their eyes widened and Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger gasped in horror, the giant two figures of yellow and red, and pink with black and darker red looked disoriented and distorted through the large crystals stood before them. At first even Lea was shocked, but as he looked more closely, he thought that the figures looked extremely familiar. Now that he noticed the crystals, and saw hundreds of them, a slow realization formed in his mind.

"It's the most terri-bi-ble '_Skullasaurus_-es' I've ever seen!" Tigger exclaimed, before adding in realization softly. "Not to mention the only ones."

"Wait a minute...those are not..." Lea muttered, then blinked in surprise as he fully realized what, or more correctly, who those figures were. In an instant, his shock faded into relief.

Before he could tell the others of this, the figures gave such enormous grins which looked like jack-o-lanterns on Halloween Night. When their feet started to move toward the group, Rabbit, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore instantly took off running down a long, narrow tunnel.

"Guys, wait! They're only-" Lea cried out, but by then the four animals were long gone and he groaned, facepalming himself for what felt like a hundreth time since arriving in this world. Not that he could blame them for being paranoid, but still...

True to his beliefs, both Kairi and Pooh emerged from behind the crystals, on the higher level from where Lea was standing and the pair slowed to a stop while looking around, apparently having heard the screams from the others.

"Did...someone say, Skullasaurus?" Pooh whimpered, becoming extremely nervous.

Before Kairi could answer, she and Pooh then heard a familiar voice call out to them. "Hey! Kairi! Pooh!"

Looking down on the lower path next to theirs, Kairi sighed in relief to see Lea who held a bit of a relieved smile of his own. "Axel! Where are the others?"

"They ran off to the tunnel over here, thinkin' that both your and Pooh's reflections were two Skullasaurus." The redhead explained.

"Our reflections?" Pooh asked, confused.

"Yeah. These large crystals kinda made you guys look like what they thought were the big, bad monsters." Lea replied.

Kairi and Pooh looked at the large crystals that Lea was pointing at, and the teenage girl approached them once more, and looking down, saw that on the other side, Lea's distorted reflection made it look huge. Realizing what it meant, she returned to the bear and reassured him, "Lea's right. There is no Skullasaurous around."

"Oh!" Pooh giggled, stepping back a little in relief. "Thank goodness. I guess it's like how I looked like a Heffalump with a honey pot on my head."

"Silly old bear." Kairi giggled, before gasping in alarm and cried out. "Pooh, look out behind you!"

Too late, Pooh didn't look where he was going and with a scream, he slipped and slid down the slide. His small, blue pot of honey was moments behind. Kairi hesitated before gazing at Lea who was torn himself, debating on whether he should head up to help her save Pooh or head into the tunnel to rejoin the others.

Finally, Lea made a decision. "I'll tell the others that you're both okay! You go save Pooh and be careful!"

"You too!" Kairi nodded, after a moment's hesitation of her before racing over to the side. She stopped before she would end up slipping herself, before crouching down and slid on the slippery slide, calling to the rapidly disappearing bear. "I'm coming, Pooh! Hold on!"

Even though she had no idea where they were going, Kairi and Pooh went sliding deeper and deeper down a deep, dark shaft towards the bottom of a chasm. All the while another growl echoed through out the cave. But as Kairi was about to catch up to the bear, to her shock and disbelief, another slide and hole suddenly appeared on the left from where Pooh was sliding. Just as she tried to stay on course with her friend, her slide suddenly sank like a long carpet coming to life and before she knew it, she was separated from him and went sliding into another cavern below.

* * *

Despite hearing Kairi's alarmed cries, Lea had to force down the panic that was rising and instead tried to reassure himself that the slide was just as slippery and probably unexpected than any of them thought. Silently pleading them to be careful, the redhead made to sprint into the tunnel up ahead, only for a sphere that a few specks of darkness floating around to surround and trap him.

"Oh, come on! What now?" The redhead growled in irritation. He then stopped himself, before gritting his teeth in realization and anger. So he stood up straight and spoke to the person he knew had done this without even turning. "Still under orders by Xehanort?"

"Hmph. You don't seem surprised to see me this time, Lea." Saix's voice replied, followed by the rest of the blue haired man as he appeared from the darkness.

"At this point, it's hard to be when you show up. Just like how you don't usually knock whenever you came into my room back when I was Axel." Lea said dryly.

Saix's expression remained the same as always. "What I find hard to understand is how you let the fear of something that is utter nonsense get to you. If you can figure out that Kairi and that old stuffed bear were the reflections of this so called monster that doesn't even exist, how is it you cannot figure out the truth of the growl?"

"What?" Lea grunted. "So now you're calling me a coward?"

"You ran off as soon as you failed to eliminate Roxas, chasing a way to bring him back and escaping whenever I appeared. And at the last moment when you realize that your existence was at it's end, you chose to use those last moments to foolishly save Sora."

The redhead clutched his fist tightly, struggling to hold in his anger, not wanting to admit that his former friend was right. As soon as he lost his fight with Roxas, Axel ran off, knowing that Xemnas would have him dusked or destroyed. At that time, the redhead had lost all faith in his life in the Organization and hoped that he could turned Sora back into a Heartless to bring Roxas back. That, he knew now, was gulliable thinking on his part.

Instead of responding to that, he fully turned around with a glare and stated darkly, "You tried to kidnap Kairi and attacked her, without even me knowing."

"What I did was to test her to see if she is capable of doing things on her own, even by preventing herself from being abducted." Saix replied, unfazed by the slight change of subject. He had expected Lea to do that and wasn't surprised that Kairi would've told him of what happened.

"Yeah, I heard 'bout that. What I want to know is why. You had her right where you wanted, and instead of just-well, you know, you fought her. Isn't that what Xehanort wants? From what she told me, you guys are after new Seven Princesses or whatever you call them! If that's the case, then what's the point of the Keyblade War if that old man's just gathering random people of light and darkness just to complete the X-Blade?" Lea growled angrily.

"The New Seven Lights are replacements, in case the Guardians of Light fail to assemble. Unless you wish to have the King's two cohorts who continously travel with Sora since the beginning as replacements of two who have yet to be found and saved, Master Xehanort will take any action to get what he wants." The scarred man informed him.

Lea knew who Saix was talking about, and folded his arms and said. "You're talkin' about Aqua who needs to be cured from the darkness, and Ventus who is still missing."

"Ah." Saix murmured. "So you remember the boy you and I briefly met."

"Yeah, I remember that kid. Back when you and me were best friends. It's too bad he most likely hasn't got us memorized, but after twelve years, I can't say that I'm really surprised. Just disappointed, but not surprised."

Before Saix could reply to that, Lea quickly added while lowering his arms. "So, why not get to the point already. Are you here to fight me or not?"

"No. I wanted to give you a set of flowers for forgiveness." Saix replied sarcastically, before turning serious once more. "You have other fights to worry about. Neither one of us can afford in perishing here and now, especially how delicate light can be. That doesn't mean that the next time you and I met, it won't be a conversation."

Lea scoffed, "Fine. Just you wait, I'm gonna hit you so hard that you'll be seeing stars and maybe pink elephants."

Saix snorted in amusement at the half-sarcastic remark, replying just as sarcastic as he began to teleport away. "Or maybe you will be seeing giant Moogles."

With that, Saix was gone and the sphere vanished without a trace, with time returning to normal. Lea waited before relaxing just a little bit and sighed hopelessly. Even though Isa had been sarcastic in the past, that was still the old Isa that Lea knew of when they were kids. None of what his former friend had said were helpful or even made any sense. More like toying with him.

The deepening growl brought Lea out of his thoughts, and, reminded of what he had to do, he quickly turned and headed down into the tunnel to find Tigger, Piglet, Rabbit and Eeyore. He didn't have to go very far and came to a halt at a cliff, where the four animals had stopped themselves from falling over, and a good thing too. Though the echoes of Pooh's screaming and Kairi's slight cries of alarm wasn't very encouraging.

"Do you hear that? The Skullasaurus; It got Pooh!" Tigger exclaimed, coming to a conclusion of horror. He then sniffled while climbing onto the cliff and helped out the others. "I'm gonna miss him."

"Oh, Pooh." Piglet muttered in sorrow.

"Guys, I don't think Pooh got captured." Lea spoke up, approaching them. They jumped, slightly startled and their eyes widened in shock. "What's wrong?"

"Axel! You're so glad it didn't get you!" Tigger exclaimed in relief.

"How did you get away from the Skullasaurus?" Rabbit demanded in disbelief.

"Man, you guys are a bit slow." Lea shook his head. "It wasn't the 'Skullasaurus'. Let alone two. It was just Kairi and Pooh's reflections behind the crystals."

"It was? You saw them?" Piglet asked, surprised.

Lea nodded. "Yeah..." before admitting sheepishly, "Though, Pooh kinda slipped and went down a slide. But don't worry, Kairi's gone to save him and I wanted to make sure you guys were okay. Hopefully we'll meet up with them later. Got it memorized?"

Tigger, Piglet and Rabbit all sighed in relief when they heard this, relieved that not only they and Eeyore had been overreacting over reflections and that they still didn't know what the Skullasaurus did look like, they were worried about Kairi and Pooh and hoped that they will see them soon, but also that the said two friends were okay-relatively speaking. At least for now. Just then, everyone froze when they heard another loud growl.

"Well, then I guess the beastly creature is still-" Rabbit cut himself off when he saw something above them and gasped, then pointed upward. "Look! It's the eye of the skull!"

Gazing upward to see what the bunny was looking at, needless to say that Lea and the others were stunned in shock and awe. A long, circular-shaped tunnel was located in the cave wall a few hundred feet above their heads, and it did resemble to an eye. A long, dead root was hanging off the edge of the passage.

"Whatever will we do?" Piglet cried out.

"Well, for starters, we go and rescue the kid." Lea said, before sighing as he another thing. "Problem is, it's a long way up and we don't have any kind of rope or whatever to get up there."

Tigger then pulled the map and shoved into Rabbit's face, exclaiming hurriedly. "The map! What's it say!?"

Rabbit looked at it, but by now, the already torn up two pieces was even more shredded to the point of now just being two pieces of short and long thin paper. "Oh, my! It's useless! There's nothing in here how to get up there!"

Lea groaned, and slapped a hand to his forehead. "Fine, then let's come up with something. We got five heads between us, so any one of us has to think of something, right?"

"You're right, Axel! I can come up with something myself, even from scratch!" Rabbit agreed, then realized what he just said and asked, "Can I do that?"

"Yeah, can he do that?" Tigger whispered, leaning in to the others.

"Well, you won't know until you try." Lea shrugged, adding. "Didn't Pooh mention something about you being smart anyway?"

"Well...you're right. He did, though I'm not sure being pink will help. But I can try." Rabbit nodded.

After a minute of silence, and a long hard thinking, Rabbit then noticed the root that hanged off the edge, and then glanced at both Tigger and Piglet before an idea formed into his mind. He then happily exclaimed while going over to them. "I have it! Tigger, you bounce Piglet all the way up there, so that you Piglet can toss the long, vine-y thing back to us down here. We'll climb up and rescue Christopher Robin together!"

Well, that Lea had to admit was a pretty good idea. He had thought of something similar, and smiled, very impressed with Rabbit's way of thinking. Who would've thought?

"Me? Make a bounce like that, with a rickety-old tail like _this_?!" Tigger asked, with hesitation. He then remembered what Pooh tried to say and maybe it was about being strong, and not taller or slower. That, or that the bear always had faith in him. "Well, I guess I could try, and tell Pooh later if I make it."

"I-I-I don't know if I can go up there. But," Piglet said, realizing that Pooh knew that he was brave, when he had to be, so he decided to do so now. "I'll be brave, just like Pooh told me."

"Now you're talkin'. Show the world what you guys are made of!" Lea encouraged.

Nodding, Tigger scooped up Piglet and placed him onto his back, before steeping back as he counted down. "One for the money, two the show, three, because of-uh, it comes before four...and _heeeere we go!_"

With a series of small bounces to the cliff edge, Tigger bounced high into the air. He was on a direct route to the ledge above. When he was only inches away, he reached out his arms and grasped the root. It took a matter of seconds for the tiger to clamber into the tunnel's entrance. He gently set Piglet down beside him. Once he realized that he was on solid ground, Piglet relaxed, relieved that Tigger had actually did it.

After that, Piglet carefully walked across the root. As he neared the vine, he tripped and nearly fell into the chasm below. Fear filled his senses for a few moments before Piglet carefully moved his arms, uncovered his eyes and reopened them. A large smile lit up his face as he managed to finally conquer his fears, before he pushed against the vine. Using all his strength, Piglet finally made the vine budge and down it fell, while he held on but went sliding all the way back down.

While the vine dropped onto the cliff, Lea, Rabbit and Eeyore looked up with slight worry as Piglet slid towards them. Fortunately, the smallest animal came a stop at the end of the vine, gently bonking into Rabbit's nose.

"Can't wait to tell Pooh and Christopher Robin how you three managed to make the plan work?" Lea smiled, proud of the team work Rabbit, Piglet and Tigger had displayed.

"Why, yes!" Piglet replied, realizing that he actually did it. He then realized something else as Rabbit gently set him down onto the ground. "Oh! B-b-but what about Kairi and Pooh?"

"Oh!" Lea blinked. Right, they wouldn't know about this area being the very place, would they? Realizing what he had to do, he turned to them and said, "I'll go find them. You guys go on ahead."

"B-be c-careful." Piglet muttered.

"I'll be fine. You guys focus on saving Christopher Robin." Lea promised, giving them a thumbs up before racing back to where he came from, unaware of what Kairi and Pooh were really up to.

When he got to where he came from, he blinked in confusion as to his right, some of the crystals disappeared and revealed a passageway leading to another tunnel down below.

"Huh?" He blinked, before suddenly feeling a strong jolt of darkness...It was coming from there! Which could only mean one thing. "Kairi!"

Without wasting anymore time, Lea sprinted down towards the tunnel to find his friend and the bear who was most likely in trouble as well.

* * *

_One minute, Kairi was sliding down on a path that just appeared out of nowhere, the next she hit her head on a rock before losing consciousness. Because the next thing she knew when she woke up, she found herself in what can only be described as the scariest and most horrible places she'd ever seen. It appeared to be another tunnel, but much darker than the one she'd been in before._

_More than that, it had overwhelming darkness all over. More than anything, Kairi tried hard to fight down the fear that slowly crept up as she walked. Where was she? How did she get here? What was going on?_

_"Could it be?"_

_"Huh?" Kairi looked up and saw, to her shock and confusion, was a now familiar blue haired woman who's back was facing her. "Aqua?"_

_The Princess of Heart then looked up and gasped in shock and disbelief, as a towering white Castle stood in the distance. Along with remnants of a village outside it, all wrecked and damaged, all within the darkness. Kairi then looked at Aqua again, just in time to see the Keyblade Master walk away, and without anything else to do, she quickly followed._

_"Why is Cinderella's world...here in the darkness?" Aqua asked herself._

_Cinderella's world? But, Kairi was certain that Cinderella's world had been restored when Sora and King Mickey closed the door to darkness. Was this another memory? If so, then why was she seeing it in Pooh's world?_

_Just as she was about to catch up, the entire scenary around her shifted and rippled, causing Kairi to stop and softly gasp. Even Aqua's image rippled, until the next thing the teenage girl knew, she found herself standing in front of Aqua, who by then stood just in front of the steps leading into the castle._

_"What I wouldn't give to really turn back time...To spend one more night beneath the stars with my best friends." Aqua murmured woefully, reaching up for the sky which was nothing but darkness. Then, as though realizing what she was doing, lowered it and sighed. "I'm doing it again."_

_"Aqua..." Kairi whispered, her heart aching. While she didn't understand why she was seeing these memories, she began to think that maybe this was when some of the worlds fell into darkness...maybe before Aqua met up with the King?_

_Then, as though like in a recording or something, everything around Kairi shifted rapidly, but even though it went on far too quickly, like her own memories flashing before her own eyes, things that happened to Aqua in the Realm of Darkness appeared all around and in front of her; Aqua seeing illusions of Terra and Ventus, finding herself in a world of Mirrors, fighting a phantom of herself, exploring the remains of what Kairi recognized was the real Enchanted Dominion, and then speaking with Terra who was then corrupted by Xehanort's heart, before another Terra appeared, fighting him._

_All the while Kairi could hear what Aqua was saying in snippets._

_"So what are you, a memory among these shadows? Are you here to...try and tell me not to lose heart? Is this what it means to face your demons? That's not true! My heart is strong! I'll prove it! I'm losing this fight. The darkness has found the cracks in my heart."_

_Then she heard a couple of conversations connecting to what she was currently seeing now._

_"Aqua! Get back!" Terra was saying._

_"Terra!" Aqua was exclaiming._

_"I messed up. Xehanort is part of me. Now he's using me so you'll tell him where you hid Ven!"_

_Kairi then gasped in horror as large dark giant hands grabbed a standing but sleeping Ventus, and Aqua who struggled against the grasp, while the two Terras, one of them being Xehanort, were still struggling against each other. Then, Terra gave out a scream and the next thing everyone knew, began to glow before unleashing a large amount of energy that forms a dome around everything in sight. Chains of light appeared and swirled around Xehanort, binding him._

_Then, everything around Kairi faded and disappeared into darkness. Her eyes widened as she then began to think that maybe someone or something was trying to tell her something. But what?_

_Sensing something to her left, Kairi gasped as, like her previous nightmares before, the statue of Sora stood._

_"Sora..." She whispered. What could she do?_

_She then shuddered, before everything that Lea told her and what Sora would normally do formed inside her heart. She may not be strong now, but...Sora, Riku, Lea, Namine...everyone was counting on her, because she wanted to help, even if they wanted to help her. She couldn't give up now. She will not give into her fears or her doubts, as long as she possibly can._

_"__**It is useless to fight your destiny, Princess.**__"_

_The wave of fear flashed, but Kairi fought hard against it, whirling around just in time to see the dark figure, the figure of Xehanort who somehow got into her heart, approach, his Keyblade in hand as he continued. "__**It is time for you to accept your fate.**__"_

_"NO!" Kairi screamed loudly, not with fear, but with determination. Surprisingly, Xehanort froze in his tracks, as he gazed at her questionly while she continued. "You have no power over me here, or in my heart! You're nothing more than my fears taking form inside my dreams! Even if I'm alone, I'm never fully alone! I have Sora in my heart, and he always came to rescue me! So now, I'm going to rescue him and protect him from you!"_

_Summoning her Keyblade, Kairi aimed it at the false Xehanort who stood there, shocked. _

_"GET OUT OF MY DREAMS!" She shouted, and a beam of light shot out towards the dark being who roared a scream. He then vanished into the light which then spread through out the entire place, as Kairi now stood in light instead of darkness._

_Panting breathlessly, stunned that she had actually managed to do it, Kairi looked around, wondering what to do next._

_"You still need to fight your fears." An unfamiliar, female but gentle voice echoed._

_Blinking in surprise and confusion, Kairi slowly turned around to see who was with her now...only for her vision to fade and..._

* * *

Kairi moaned while opening her eyes, blinking in surprise before pushing herself up. Rubbing her head which ached a little due to having hit a rock, she looked around and found that she was in a large, crystal chasm with crystals sticking out of the walls and floor which, thankfully was solid ground. Up ahead on the opposite side of where she was, was the entrance of another tunnel. Could it lead to the surface, to where everyone else was? Would it lead her to Pooh?

Her memories returned to her almost instantly, and while she was stunned that she had actually not only seen what Aqua had gone through, even if she didn't fully understand how or why, but that Kairi conquered her own fears of her nightmares. But then...who was the woman that spoke to her? Kairi didn't see her, but she knew that the voice was female.

Deciding to worry about that later, Kairi stood up and made to race out to continue her search, but skid to a stop when something appeared in front of her out of the darkness. Roaring as it stomped on the ground, was a large monster that resembled to a mixture of a T-Rex and a Velociraptor, it's eye sockets empty and black, resmbling to that of a skull. It was black and purple with scaly skin. On it's tail was a large club that looked deadly.

At first Kairi thought it was the real Skullasaurus, but when she noticed the familiar emblem on it's chest, she realized that it was a Heartless. Another fresh wave of fear washed over her, and Kairi took a couple steps back, uncertain if she can manage to defeat this thing without Lea by her side.

Just then, she saw another memory return to her...one that when she, Sora, Donald, Goofy and Riku were in the Castle that Never Was looking for King Mickey and Ansem the Wise, just before the defeat of Luxord and Saix.

* * *

_"Donald's right. You were amazing back there!" Sora praised, surprised and happily._

_Kairi giggled, "Well, I have to be strong one way or another, right?"_

_"Well, you were always strong. You never gave up on anybody, Kairi. Because we're all connected." The teenage boy pointed out, smiling._

_"Even though I couldn't help out back then to find Riku?" She teasingly replied._

_Sora sheepishly scratched the back of his head, saying. "Well, I just got you back, I didn't want Xehanort's Heartless to capture you again. Especially since he gotten to Riku. But yeah, you're never scared of anything. I know that now, and always will."_

_"Thanks, Sora." Kairi smiled, warmly._

* * *

Snapping her eyes open, Kairi realized now the real meaning of Sora's words. Friendship always gave him strength, and it was Sora and Riku, and now everyone else she made that gave her the same strength too. Realizing what she had to do, Kairi summoned her Keyblade and stood in a fighting stance.

"If you're in trouble, Sora, I'll find you. I'm strong as long as you and everyone else are in my heart!" Kairi declared, knowing that she has to fight the Heartless on her own now. But she wouldn't give up. She won't give up.

The Heartless-the Skullasaur she decided to call it-roared again before charging to try and swipe at her. The Princess of Heart leaped out of the way, avoiding it's claws just as it clawed the ground, scraping it. It attempted to try again, but Kairi jumped back before chanting Blizzaga at it's face. The Heartless roared while rearing back in pain, stumbling back a couple of paces which allowed Kairi to charge with caution and decided to strike it's legs as hard as she could. When it recovered, it swiped at her, sending her back flying. But thankfully it wasn't a too serious injury and she, thanks to all the training, flipped and landed in a crouch.

Quickly using Cure on herself, Kairi dodge-rolled when the Skullasaur Heartless opened it's jaws wide and unleashed a set of flames. She counter-attacked with another Blizzaga as soon she realized it had weakness to ice attacks. Her spell hit it on the side, and while in pain, the Heartless became even more furious as it swished around it's tail, smashing the crystals while trying to hit the Keyblade Wielder. The ground quaked and Kairi stumbled, trying to keep her balance. When it stopped, she forced herself to dodge-roll again when the Skullasaur-Heartless intended to swipe at her with it's claws again.

"Flower Shoot!" Kairi chanted, casting her attack at it's chest again when the Heartless made the mistake to leave an opening. Instead of attacking it's legs again, the Princess of Heart decided to aim for the head. So she jumped as high as she could, using it's tail to help her up further before running up along it's back and strike it's skull with a hard thrust, while being careful in trying not to fall off.

Even though the Heartless continued to be in pain, it swished it's head to force Kairi off. It succeeded and she was sent flying forward, crying out in alarm. She hit the ground hard, rolling a couple of times before coming to a stop. Wincing and dizzy, she pushed herself up as quickly as she could, while the Heartless roared again, slowly making it's way towards her. Trying to fight off the nausea and the dizzy spells, Kairi forced down the urge to pass out and instead used another Cure on herself and jumped back to avoid in being crushed when it attempted to chomp her with it's jaws.

"KAIRI!" Lea's voice echoed from above just as Kairi was about to continue the fight. Blinking in surprise, she looked up and saw, to her relief, was the redhead himself as he leaped down from a ledge above and struck hard at the Heartless' head with his Keyblade, flipping before landing beside the Princess of Heart. The Skullasaur Heartless roared, forced low due to the impact.

"Axel!" Kairi exclaimed in relief.

"Sorry I'm late." The taller man responded, taking up a fighting stance as he glanced at her. "You okay?"

Kairi nodded, much to his relief. The two then turned back to the Heartless with glares as the monster was now even more furious than ever before. To Lea's surprise, the Heartless seemed to be fairing pretty badly and he wondered just how much he missed before he eventually discovered that Kairi fought this thing on her own.

"C'mon! Let's take this guy down!" Lea declared.

"Right!" Kairi agreed.

The Skullasaur Heartless swished it's tail again, but missed as the two Keyblade Wielders leaped out of the way before Kairi quickly jugged down an elixir and then she chanted another Blizzaga at it's face, while Lea jumped high and slashed his Keyblade down at it's leg, causing double damage at their opponent. Even though Kairi quickly warned him that it can use fire attacks, Lea split his Keyblade to form his Chakrams before tossing them at the monster's head, and while the flames didn't too much damage, the blades did and the Heartless stumbled back once more in agony.

Though he was caught off guard when just as his weapons returned to him and reformed back into his Keyblade, the Heartless whacked him with it's tail and he yelled in pain, being thrown back and hitting the ground hard, worrying Kairi who then glared at the Skullasaur before using it's distraction to use her Flower Shoot again while it made to crush him with it's jaws.

"Leave him alone!" Kairi yelled, chanting her spell right at it's head once more, stopping the Heartless from even lowering it's head.

Lea, a bit dazed and more than a little sore, made a mental note to thank Kairi later, before he stood up and ignored the pain before he charged and struck the Heartless in the legs before leaping up and stabbed it through the chest, causing the Heartless to weaken even further. The two of them kept at it until finally they shared a nod, coming up with an idea. They shared a nod before they jumped and simultaneously slashed at it's chest with the Destiny's Embrace and Flame Liberator.

With that done, Kairi and Lea leaped back and landed, glaring at the Heartless who, far too much in agony and having lost it's fight, roared a dying scream before collapsing onto the ground with a huge thud, before fading away into oblivion. With the monster gone, Kairi and Lea both relaxed, and shared a victorious smile, with the latter giving the former a thumbs up. Just then, the entire area rippled, which had the two of them glance around in confusion and worry.

Then, as though space and time were splitting apart, Kairi and Lea both saw glimpses of images of everyone before the entire room vanished, and they found themselves standing in another cavern with an entrance close by. On top of that, they noticed an orb that formed of darkness that shrank smaller and smaller until it disappeared in a tiny burst of magic.

"Uh...what was that?" Lea asked, dumbfounded.

"Darkness...it was darkness." Kairi muttered, though wasn't quite certain. "I don't know what kind it was but...something must have happened to this world before we got here. Maybe it was the Organization, or...the old woman we saw."

"Huh...Then it looks like we almost got caught right into the trap, then. Question is, which one is responsible?" Lea folded his arms to his chest, closing his eyes to think. Maybe it was the Organization, and Lea couldn't help but think that, due to his past friendship with Isa that Xehanort had decided to send him in order to lure him away from Kairi and since he'd been the one to take her to Xemnas before, he was suitable for the assignment.

On the other hand, the woman did use dark magic, as the Heartless appeared before the other day here in the Timeless Realm. But then, who was she and what did she want?

Realizing that he had no idea, Lea sighed before suggesting. "Guess we'll have to find out later. Any idea where Pooh went?"

Kairi was about to reply that no she didn't, before she and then Lea thought they heard a familiar voice speaking out, surprisingly close by.

"Christopher Robin?" The voice said.

"That's Pooh's voice!" Kairi cried out softly, gazing at the nearby cliff. Sharing a hopeful glance with Lea who nodded, the two Keyblade Wielders hurried over and looked down the deep carven below. To their relief, it was Winnie the Pooh himself, who seemed to be confused and was shaking the honey pot, then looked around, before noticing the duo above him.

"Oh! Hello Kairi, and Axel! I thought nobody would come and find me." Pooh called up, with relief in his voice.

"Pooh! You're okay!" Kairi exclaimed in relief. "Hang on, we'll find something to get you back up."

Kairi and Lea both looked around until they spotted vines close by and while not understanding where it came from or how it got here, the two of them found that it was long enough to lower down to the trapped bear. They tied the one end to a near by rock, and then threw the other down below. Kairi volunteered to climb down, and after promising that she will be careful, the Princess of Heart did that. She reached the bottom in surprisingly not even five minutes, before she hugged Pooh who returned it, and after the latter held onto the honey pot, she tied the rope around her before holding the bear in her arms. Lea then pulled them both up and helped them back onto solid ground.

"Now, how did you end up all the way down there?" Lea asked Pooh.

"I'm not sure. But I couldn't get out on my own." Pooh replied, then asked. "Um, excuse me. But, have either of you heard Christopher Robin?"

"...No. We're sorry, Pooh." Kairi replied, sadly shaking her head. Poor Pooh. Now he's hearing things since he misses his friend so much. She and Lea both knew what it was like.

"Hmm...It's a rather puzzlesome thing, but, I know I heard him, and it's almost like he never left me." Pooh thought aloud, confused. "But that can't be, can it? Or, can it?"

Both Kairi and Lea shared a surprised glance as they suddenly realized what Pooh was talking about. They both then smiled, and Kairi then bend down to the bear.

"He's always with you. Right here." The teenage girl said softly, pointing at Pooh's chest. "Just because you're both apart, your hearts will always be connected because of how close you two really are."

"She's right, you know." Lea added. "Sometimes friends, no matter how sad it is to say goodbye, do have to leave. But a part of them always stays. Got it memorized?"

The redhead was surprised to hear himself say that, and then found himself smiling. It was easy to sometimes forget, and friendships can be torn, but parts of them always stay. Sora never gave up on Riku or Kairi, and Donald and Goofy had been close to King Mickey and were now close to Sora. Eventually they found each other, because they always kept each other in their hearts. It was then that Lea realized that it was the same with him; a small part of Isa was still with him, and so was Roxas...and the black-haired girl. If he looked right, then he can get them back.

Seeing that Kairi was pointing at his heart, Pooh placed a paw to it and smiled. "Perhaps you're right. Owl was mistaken all along. The place where he is, is not on a map. It's very nice for us."

Kairi nodded, happy that Pooh had remembered an important lesson. "C'mon. The others are waiting, and maybe they found Christopher Robin by now."

Pooh and Lea both nodded, before the latter looked carefully to see where to go next in order to find out where to head back to where the others were waiting.

* * *

Thankfully, after a couple of twists and turns, Lea lead both Kairi and Pooh to the cliff where Rabbit, Piglet and Eeyore waited and after a happy reunion, the group climbed up to meet up with Tigger one by one. Now they were carefully pulling Eeyore up as the donkey had been tied around the waist. Surprisingly, he'd been so heavy for someone smaller than both Lea and Kairi combined that the redhead strained until with a final yank, Eeyore was flown over and landed into Lea's arms.

Stumbling a bit, Lea sighed in relief before gently setting the donkey down and untied up. "Phew...Well, that's all of us."

"I'm so glad we're all together again. But um, now what do we do?" Pooh asked, looking around to see if there were any signs of Christopher Robin.

Before any of the others could answer, they all then heard unexpected footsteps which had all seven of them look up in shock and a bit of fear. There, Kairi, Lea, Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit and Eeyore watched as a monster-like shadow appeared from the bend up ahead. The sound of footsteps grew louder as the shadow grew smaller.

Rabbit shook violently in fear, exclaiming. "This it it! It's...It's...It's...!"

At first, everyone thought it was the real Skullasaurus, but when the figure emerged from around the corner, the shadow quickly changed to the real shape of a small boy, followed by it's owner. Before Rabbit to finish his sentence or even say the Skullasaurus, the figure that appeared was anything but. Kairi and Lea both held looks of surprises and no small amount of relief, but the ones who were the most relieved were Pooh and his friends as they recognized who it was. It was indeed a boy no older than seven years old, having short brown hair. He was wearing blue shorts, a white T-shirt, and a pair red sneakers. He also had a pair of socks. When he saw the group, the boy was relieved.

"It's Christopher Robin!" Pooh exclaimed happily, setting the honey pot onto the ground and ran over to meet him. The boy smiled in return and caught the bear who leaped into his arms and the two reunited friends embraced lovingly. Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet and Eeyore walked over happily as well, while Kairi smiled warmly and happily.

Lea folded his arms with a smile, glad to see that the kid they'd been looking for was finally found. Or rather, Christopher Robin found them. Either way, mission accomplished.

"Hippy-hooray! You made it!" Tigger cheered, bouncing up and down happily.

"We're so very glad to see you!" Piglet said happily.

"Oh how clever of you!" Rabbit praised.

"Hello." Eeyore greeted.

Pooh smiled happily, then remembered something as Kairi and Lea walked over, introducing the two to the boy. "Christopher Robin, we all like you to meet Kairi and Axel. They helped us to find you."

"Really?" Christopher Robin asked, then turned to the two older people and said. "Thank you for looking out for them."

"You're welcome, and it's nice to meet you." Kairi replied kindly.

"Don't mention it. Glad to see that you and others are back to together again." Lea said, dismissively.

The boy nodded, then turned to his animal best friends. "Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"You have? Well then, where were you?" Pooh asked, puzzled.

"Yes, we've been searching for you, like Pooh said." Piglet replied.

"Indeed." Pooh giggled, then told Christopher Robin excitedly. "Oh, Christopher Robin. You should've seen Piglet! He was so much braver than he believed, and Tigger was stronger than he seemed, and Rabbit was smarter than he thinks."

Piglet bashfully held his hands behind his back, blushing a little, while Tigger chuckled happily and proudly, and Rabbit placed a hand to his chest with a proud look.

That surprised Kairi and Lea, realizing that everything that Pooh just said must be what he tried to remember what Christopher Robin told him before the journey began and had finally remembered it...just when his friends who didn't have confidence within themselves had found it themselves.

"Didn't have to come clear out here to find it. Had it inside all along." Eeyore nodded in agreement.

"Of course you did. Just like told Pooh-" Christopher Robin suddenly cut himself off when he realized what the aforementioned bear and Piglet had told him, and asked in surprise. "Wait! Searching for me?"

"Yeah! To save you from Skull." Tigger nodded.

"Skull?" The boy repeated, then giggled as he corrected his friends. "Oh no. I was at 'School'."

This made Kairi sigh in realization while Lea groaned in exasperation, facepalming himself again as he muttered. "I _knew_ it was _School_ and not _Skull_."

"That Owl!" Rabbit complained in annoyance, irritated that the bird had got it all wrong and Lea had been right. "I knew Axel was right."

"But, you said to worry about you because you were going far away." Piglet hurriedly pulled out the note that was on Pooh's pot of honey that Owl read and gave to Christopher Robin.

"Yeah and you needed help." Tigger added.

"No, no, no." Christopher Robin shook his head, then pulled the rest of the sticky honey off the words to reveal the rest of what he'd actually written. "_'Don't worry about me, I'm not going far away, just to school, be back this afternoon, help yourself to his honey'_."

"You mean you gave this honey pot for me?" Pooh asked, surprised as he gestured at the pot in his arms. "Oh, bother. I went to find you to ask you about who's honey this is, but I didn't read the note or find you at our favorite tree."

"Silly old bear." Christopher Robin giggled, shaking his head.

"B-but, w-what about the Skullasaurus?" Piglet asked, worriedly.

"The what?" The boy asked, confused.

At once, they all suddenly heard a growl. Though this time, both Kairi and Lea realized that it wasn't as loud or scary as it had been in the last nearly 48 hours. In fact, it sounded more like a normal stomach grumbling and very close by. But apparently Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, Tigger and Eeyore hadn't figured that out yet. In fact, all five of them ran around panicking and screaming until they all hid behind Christopher Robin who giggled again.

"That's no Skullasaurus. There's only one thing that makes a sound like that. The rumbly tummy of a hungry-for-honey Pooh Bear."

Pooh blinked in surprise before gazing at his stomach and then, seeing it and now feeling it rumble, chuckled in realization. "Oh! Perhaps I was so worried I forgot that there was a rumbly in my tummy."

Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit and Eeyore peered around Christopher Robin in shocked silence, while Kairi, now fully relaxed, giggled while Lea facepalmed himself on the forehead.

"I knew it wasn't a monster too." The redhead shooks his head. All this time and they'd all been paranoid over Pooh being starving? Well, that certainly explained what Saix had told him earlier. Now Lea felt embarrassed about this. If Roxas or the black-haired girl heard about this, he'd never live it down.

* * *

A few minutes later, all eight of them emerged from the hole, seeing the sunlight for the first time in hours, with Kairi, Lea, and Christopher Robin helping Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit and Eeyore out, while Tigger just bounced his way out, climbing out the 'eye' of the skull and it only took about half a minute until they reached the now grassy ground.

"We looked in all the places you weren't," Pooh explained as he had already been doing for the last several minutes, very eager to tell his very best, best friend the whole story of the adventures he and everyone else went through. "By the time we thought to look in the places you were, the..."

He then trailed off when he, and the rest of the group who had been searching for the boy saw that the entire area has somehow changed. There were no dark mountains to speak of, or even any signs of mists or dead trees. Instead, it was like an extended fields of the Hundred Acre Woods. Kairi and Lea both looked around in confusion, until both of them came to a realization and shared another glance. Given what they saw earlier after defeating the Heartless, they realized that the orb of darkness that vanished may just created an illusion to make things more scary.

An illusion within an illusion world. They both looked behind them and saw that even the 'skull' format wasn't as big as it looked. It was just a pile of rocks. There were even red and yellow leaves around.

"Excuse me, Christopher Robin. But...wasn't this um...bigger?" Pooh asked, pointing at the rocks, also confused.

"Yeah, and whole lot scarier?" Tigger added, bewildered.

The boy bend down to the two of them and explained. "Well, things can seem that way when we're alone and afraid. Or so I'm told."

"You got that right." Lea chuckling, realizing just how silly even he felt. Talk about ironic. "Sometimes fear can make anybody do all sorts of crazy things. Even by seeing things that aren't even real, and you let your imagination play tricks on you."

Kairi nodded in agreement. Even though she still needed training herself, she was going to work extra hard to not let her nightmares get to her, and while she still felt uncertain on whether they were warnings or not, she was going to always think about her friends and believe in the light...just like her grandmother had told her.

"But now there's nothing to be afraid of." Rabbit agreed. Piglet nodded happily in agreement.

Pooh nodded happily, and with that, he and all of his seven friends began to march their way back to the Hundred Acre Wood, and everything that seemed scary on their way to that area that seemed dangerous and terrifying were now more safe and simple. For example, the deep gorge was nothing more than a small gap between two small hills, the thick thorn forest were just small rose bushes, and before they knew it, they were walking onto the bridge and were right back to the Hundred Acre Wood.

They passed Owl's house where the bird himself was relieved to see Christopher Robin safe and sound despite Lea rolling his eyes and shook his head. After that, knowing that it was time to head off themselves both he and Kairi shared their goodbyes to Pooh's group who returned to their homes, with Christopher Robin joining Pooh towards the bear's house.

Afterwards, Kairi and Lea were walking along before pausing at a small hill where a tree sat on top.

"...Sorry that I couldn't help ya' fight off that Heartless a lot sooner." Lea sighed, guiltly. He felt bad for having his friend go through all of that. If he'd been a lot faster, Kairi wouldn't have to have done most of the fighting, and he didn't want to think of what would happen if he'd been too late.

To his surprise, Kairi shook her head, and replied with a kind smile. "It's all right, Axel. I guess...it was good practice."

"What do'ya mean?"

"When I was separated from Pooh, I had another dream. Except, first I saw Aqua, and...what she went through in the Realm of Darkness, before seeing King Mickey again."

She paused, before adding. "Then it was the nightmare I had for the past few nights. But, after seeing what Aqua had gone through, and remembering what Pooh was trying to say, I realized that...that I couldn't let my fears of nightmares take over me, or else the darkness would swallow up my heart and Xehanort would've gotten to me. I made him go away with my believe in all my friends; Sora, Riku, the King, Donald, Goofy, even Namine...and you."

"So...you managed to face your fears in your dream before fighting the Heartless." Lea realized, stunned.

Kairi nodded, "I guess you can say that I remembered what Sora knows; our friends are our power, and we're theirs."

The former Nobody blinked, then smiled. "Yeah. That's true."

Then they heard a twinkling sound which made them look to the bottom of the cliff wall, and like in Enchanted Dominion and in Pranksters Paradise, a Keyhole appeared. Realizing what to do, they both approached it and with a nod of agreement, summoned their Keyblades and held them out. Beams of light hit the Keyhole which glowed brighter and not only made a locking sound, it also revealed an entry point of light, their exit from this world, and entry to the next step of their journey.

That done, Kairi and Lea carefully stepped through as the light shone brighter, filling up the area as they soon left the illusion of Hundred Acre Wood behind, and journeyed on to the next illusion world.

* * *

_Back in the Realm of Light...just before the adventure in Arendalle..._

Yen Sid had been in deep thoughts since Sora, Donald and Goofy, and Riku and Mickey had left on their assignments to locate the Key to Return Hearts as well as finding and restoring Aqua to normal. Neither task was easy, he knew that. But had faith in both groups as well as Kairi and Lea completing their training, and their task of exploring illusions of worlds. Alas, Organization XIII wasn't making things easier for them. Master Xehanort was usually a patient man.

But even the evil Keyblade Master had his limits when it comes to waiting.

He gazed out at the stars through his window of the Tower from his seated position behind his desk, and for a split second, much to his concern, he thought he saw a glimmer of darkness forming, and a large black figure appearing before it vanished completely. The powerful Sorcerer narrowed his eyes more carefully, before they widened in shock and, for the first time in many years, fear.

"...It cannot be!" He softly gasped, just as he heard Merlin poof into existence, coughing as some of his magical dust got into his mouth.

Once the other Wizard's coughing fit ceased, Merlin approached the desk and told him urgently. "Master Yen Sid, I'm afraid I've come with dreadful news! Kairi and Lea's training has been sabotaged!"

"Of all other troubling news." Yen Sid sighed, turning to face Merlin. "I sense that they are capable of handling it, but I also sense that a member of the Organization has entered the Timeless Realm."

"My thoughts exactly. Though I don't think it is those rascles who are messing things with my magic." Merlin explained, grumbling. "If I am right, and I do hope that I am not, I think I know who else may be the true mastermind of this situation. Unfortunately, I can only get to them once their task is complete and if our young wielders can work together to get out of that mess."

"I shall leave it to you then, Merlin. In which case, when you do inform Kairi and Lea, be sure to warn them of the dangers. I'm afraid Master Xehanort's plot is no longer our only main concern for the Realm of Light's future."

The younger-ish Wizard's eyes widened in fear. There was only one other threat besides the Heartless and Xehanort that could threaten the Realm of Light. "Oh, heavens, please tell me it's not what I think it is."

Yen Sid nodded grimly. "I'm afraid it is...The Ourobos has risen once again."

It seems now things have become more dangerous than anyone had thought.

* * *

**A/N: And now the Hundred Acre Wood arc is done! Hooray! Next up we return to Sora and the others as they head over to Radiant Garden! Though there are a few other surprises along the way, but you'll have to wait and see what it is.**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	38. Chapter 37: The Mysterious Heartless

**Author's note: About the black figure and the Ourobos. Well, both are connected, let's put that way. In fact, they're actually the same, and as for the name, no, I didn't mean Ouroboros, because I gave the...well, it's a made up name which it's owner will be revealed in the near future. Yen Sid will explain more later.**

**And for Merlin and Mim...well, you'll just have to wait and see, because I don't want to give out any spoilers. Anywho, let's continue onward!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 37: The Mysterious Heartless.

_Back in the Timeless Realm...just after leaving the Hundred Acre Wood..._

Even though they had passed through the corridor of illusions to pass through different worlds three times, the swirling lights never ceased to amaze Kairi or Lea. It was never a long walk, just by maybe a minute or two before they reached the next world of their travels. So they didn't have much time to let the scenery around them sink in yet.

Kairi certainly hadn't let it sink in yet, even now. Because her thoughts were on everything that's happened in the Hundred Acre Wood, and as she hadn't thought about it, she now thought of what she did see just before saying goodbye to Pooh and his friends.

* * *

_They were just about to pass the bridge and everyone was happily talking now that Christopher Robin has been found, or, put more correctly, he found them but it was still a fun and scary adventure, even if neither Kairi or Lea had any idea on why the scenery had been put under an illusion that, if Saix was believed, the Organization had nothing to do with, the Princess of Heart then saw the familiar sensation of everything freezing, but still in the Hundred Acre Wood and it wasn't as static, but more like a clear memory, much like the first time._

_Except she found herself outside of Pooh's house, and there stood Sora, now to when she last saw him before he and Riku left for the Mark of Mastery Exam._

_"_I'm so glad you're okay, Pooh._" Sora was saying, in relief._

_"_And I'm glad you came to visit. But you see, I was just about to begin my stoutness exercises. Perhaps we could visit a bit later...Somebody-I-Don't-Know._" Pooh acknowledged in reply._

_Sora looked shocked, and even Kairi's eyes widened, before she realized that, remembering what he'd told her, this must be when the book got damaged, the pages went missing again and Pooh lost his memories of everyone. She watched as Sora asked about Piglet, but Pooh didn't remember, which made him think to himself._

_"_Something very weird is happening here. Maybe I'd better go back and ask Merlin about this._" Sora murmured to himself._

_Kairi felt her heart ache, as her guilt of not being able to remember Sora at first only grew worse, because everyone forgot about him, because, from what Riku had said, it was because of Sora's memories being messed up and that caused the connection he had with everyone else to be briefly taken apart, thus everyone forgot not only about Sora, but also Donald and Goofy who forgot about King Mickey._

_Then, the __memory_ _shifted again, except instead of showing her how everyone else were remembered piece by piece, they flashed all around her and it showed her how everyone was relieved that Pooh began to remember them one by one; Piglet, Rabbit, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga, Roo, and Owl. Until finally she saw Sora and the gang in a cave that was much like the illusion of the one she, Lea, and the illusion selves of the Hundred Acre Wood gang._

_They spotted Pooh by himself in a crystal cave. Sora and the others hurried over._

_"_Pooh! There you are! Hey...we looked everywhere for you._" Sora was telling him, relieved._

_"_I was looking for a very dear friend that I remember I made a very important promise to._" Pooh replied._

_"_Did you find him?_" Sora queried, and Kairi looked back and forth, before her eyes widened as she realized that Pooh was trying to remember Sora, and thought he'd should go look for him...and like with what she experienced, it had been Sora who found the bear._

_Pooh shook his head, sadly. "No, I looked and looked. But he doesn't seem to be anywhere." He was then suddenly bounced by Tigger who sat on top of him._

_"_Pooh Boy! So there you are._" The tiger exclaimed happily._

_"_Oh, but Tigger..._" Pooh began, and after a moment was helped up by his bouncing friend. "_Did you have to bounce me so...bounce-ily?_"_

_"_Gosh, I thought a jagular had gotten ya!_" Tigger explained._

_The bear blinked, then gasped worriedly. "_Oh dear. I hadn't thought of that. I do hope a jagular hasn't gone and gobbled up my friend!_"_

"Now Pooh, to remember. Isn't **Sora** the one you're looking for?_" Kanga spoke up._

_Both Sora and Kairi blinked, as the latter saw that the former held a surprised and realized expression on his face, meaning that he only just figured out himself, which made her smile a little. Just then, Pooh's stomach rumbled, but the bear, having a very little brain, didn't think it was him being hungry._

_"_Oh! The Jagular!_" Pooh cried out in fear._

_Sora smiled as he bend down to the bear's level, reassuring him. "_No, it's just your tummy grumbling. You must be hungry. C'mon... Let's head home and see if we can find you some honey._"_

_"_I'd like that, Sora._" Pooh unexpectedly replied, finally remembering him, much to Kairi's relief and Sora's surprise and then huge relief._

_"_Pooh! You remembered!_" The teenager exclaimed happily._

_"Remember what, Sora?" The bear blinked, confused._

_Sora just chuckled, which made Pooh smile again. "I _like it ever so much when you're cheerful, Sora._"_

_Then the memory shifted once more, and then Kairi found herself standing on the hill where Sora and Pooh were sitting on a log, gazing out at the starry sky._

_"_So, what are you doing here?_" Sora asked._

_"_I was thinking: Perhaps there's a way to make it so you won't go away._" Pooh replied, which made Sora look at him in surprise._

_"_You mean, a way to make me **stay**?_" The teenager asked. Kairi sighed, realizing that Pooh missed Sora so much. She knew what it was like, but at the same time, she knew otherwise that friends couldn't stay together forever, even if she hoped that she, Sora and Riku would._

_"_Yes. Would there be such a thing as a way to make it so you don't go away again?_" Pooh replied._

_Sora sighed, before gazing up at the moon and then reassured him. "_Don't worry. I promise I'll come back and visit you now and then. I'll always be with you-right here. You don't have to go anywhere. Just stay here, and you can see me anytime you want._"_

_"_You mean I just have to stay right here?_" Pooh asked, surprised and sounding relieved._

_"_Yep. That's all._" Sora nodded, with a smile._

_Kairi couldn't help but smile. Sora always made promises and tried his best to keep them, and most times he managed to fufil those promises. Like how he promised to return her Lucky Charm to her and while it took a year, he still managed to do it. That's why she didn't hesitate to give it back to him, because Kairi knew, it helped Sora on his journey many times. She watched as the rest of Pooh's friends also made promises, before Sora knew that it was time to leave._

_"_You're leaving?_" Pooh asked._

_Sora nodded, a little sad but knew that he had to continue his quest. "_Yes. I really have to go._"_

_"Well, I won't be sad, because you'll always be right here forever and __ever." Pooh told him, placing paw to his heart, and Kairi could've sworn she felt tears in her eyes, at the sweet moment, especially when Sora promised everyone else that they were all in his heart too...just as the memory faded and she found herself back with Lea and the others..._

* * *

"Hey? Something wrong?"

Blinking out of her reminisce, Kairi looked up to see that Lea was looking at her, curiously. Realizing that she'd zone out, the Princess of Heart shook her head and replied. "No. Just thinking about Sora making a promise to Pooh."

"Seen those memories? How come I never saw the memories of the world we just left?" The redhead asked, surprised and disappointed. It still begged the question on how he didn't even realize what just happened or why he'd been frozen in time without even knowing.

"I'm not sure. Maybe it's because the real Hundred Acre Wood never had Heartless enter it before and Sora helped out everyone like it was a normal day." Kairi replied. "The second time when the book was damaged, Pooh lost his memories of everyone..."

"Like how Sora did, except everyone forgot about him." Lea finished the thought.

The teenage girl nodded, adding. "And then they remembered. So, if Sora and Pooh got their memories back, and so did everyone else, including me, I just know that you'll fully remember the girl who went missing."

The former Nobody softly gasped at this, then realized that Kairi was talking about the black-haired girl and then knew that she was right. Lea couldn't help but admit to himself, but the same thing with Roxas, and while things hadn't been the same since and by the time his best friend did remember, he was already on his way to rejoin Sora. Maybe it was a wishful thinking on his part, but...if those were the cases, then if Roxas can be saved, then he can remember everything about him and Lea.

Still...the redhead did also want to make up for the past mistakes to him, and to the girl he was still struggling to remember. But at least he was still remembering, and wondered if this was how Kairi and everyone else felt when they struggled to remember Sora, or how Sora struggled to remember Kairi after being told the truth by Namine. Even worse, he'd been part of it even though Axel had really been sent to deal with the traitors.

But at least the reassurence that he will get all of his memories back gave him some comfort. He will remember the girl, including her name, and he will find out what happened to her, and bring her and Roxas back...even Isa.

"Thanks, Kairi." Lea replied.

Kairi nodded, before she and her friend continued onward towards the next illusionary world, almost reaching the exit.

* * *

_Back in the Realm of Light...after leaving Arendalle..._

As they were heading over to Radiant Garden, which they first knew of as Hollow Bastion, to meet up with Riku and Mickey to locate the library on finding clues of Maleficent's latest scheme and to check up on the others. Maybe even ask and meet Ienzo in person more about the replicas and an update on restoring Roxas. Not to mention find the next Piece of Light and track down Aqua.

Though those were not on Sora's mind right now. Instead, not only was he thinking about his encounter with Xion and what he heard inside his mind, which could only mean, in a weird way, that her heart was inside him just like Roxas, but also seeing Aqua for the first time...and how he somehow reacted like he'd known her before...or rather, someone else did, which didn't make any sense.

While he knew that the corruption was bad, but Sora never thought that it had effected Aqua so much that she'd be so bitter...similar to what Riku had went through. And what did she mean by...thief of hearts? He knew that he'd seen her eyes turn from gold to blue...

"Who was it that said that?" Sora murmured aloud, getting the attention of Donald and Goofy.

"Sora?" Donald queried, wondering what the teenage Keyblade Wielder was thinking about this time, a little annoyed that he wasn't really thinking about the more important things; like the Key to Return Hearts and everything else that was happening. On the other hand, the mage had to admit that he was still in shock with everything that's happened in Arendalle.

"I can't stop thinking about the guy who spoke to Aqua through me." Sora admitted, holding his arms to his chest.

"Could it have been Roxas?" Goofy asked.

"No." Sora shook his head, placing a hand to his chest. "It's...someone else. Now that I think about it, I know it sounds strange, but...what if I have someone else in my heart I don't even know of? Someone who knew Aqua..."

"Well, gee, you've been seein' the memories that aren't yours." Goofy pointed out, counting down the list of names that Sora had mentioned via the memories. "There's Roxas, Xion, Ventus, Aqua, and Terra...and even Axel, too."

"You even heard Xion talk to you." Donald added, realizing that Goofy had a good point.

"Would that mean my heart's really a prison?"

"Huh!?" Donald and Goofy both exclaimed, bewildered on what Sora just asked. Why would he say that his heart was a prison?

As though hearing their minds, the teenager sighed and confessed. "In the Sleeping Worlds, Xehanort from the past said that I made my heart a prison, even though I'm not a prisoner. I couldn't get what he meant by that..."

Sora then realized and remembered something else, and narrowed his brows in confusion. Something else had happened when Xehanort said that. Or at least, that the spiky-haired teen wasn't a prisoner. Wasn't there...some other guy he saw briefly? It wasn't that good of a glance, but...somehow Sora had caught glimpse of the guy having a black and red outfit that reminded him of when Xehanort's Heartless possessed Riku. And...yellow eyes and black spiky hair.

Then a wave of horror began to form in his heart as he realized...that guy looked a lot like him...!

"And I'm not sure if I was seeing things or not but...I saw another guy with him for a split second." He continued, while trying to force himself to calm down. "He looked...just like me, only with black hair and...eyes like Xehanort...and even Aqua."

By then, Sora found himself shaking a little and realizing that he was beginning to panic as a horrible thought came into his mind. "What if...what if that was me and I do have a piece of Xehanort's heart too and Roxas and Xion are in danger?"

"Ooh...It'll be okay, Sora." Donald reassured, even though he was beginning to panic himself the more his younger friend was saying this.

"Yeah, and if ya' did have a piece of Xehanort's heart within ya, don't ya think you'd have silver hair and not your usual colour?" Goofy added.

"Yeah, but Marluxia and Larxene's hairs were still their normal colour. But I'm pretty sure their eyes were just like Xehanort's, and even though she's only been corrupted, Aqua's eyes are that colour too." Sora said, closing his eyes in in dread. "What if I was seeing my future-self or something and that...that we already lost?"

He hung his head low, unable to come up with a solution of how to solve this problem if he really did have a piece of Xehanort inside him on top of everything else. Sora didn't feel any different, and he had been gradually been regaining his power except for the Power of Waking, and if there had been any signs of change, he would've noticed by now, right? Or maybe it was an extremely low process and the Organization were biting their time.

Or worse...What if those nightmares he'd been having are signs of him fearing more for the safety of everyone he cared about and that his heart was slowly being overcome by darkness?

"If I do end up becoming like that...how can we beat Xehanort if I end up being one of his vessels?" Sora murmured, and then pulled out the four Pieces of Light and gazed at them. "Then the Organization will be using me to use the Key to Return Hearts to corrupt more hearts into darkness..."

Donal and Goofy shared a very concerned glance, worried that Sora may be right, and as much as they didn't want to believe it and that they helped Axel, Riku and King Mickey to save him from really becoming Xehanort's thirteenth vessel, maybe they'd been too late and Xehanort did succeed...and if Larxene was telling the truth, then maybe she'd been referring to Sora and Xion being among the thirteen but really wanted Sora to find someone else to replace him and Aqua...or maybe that's why they were finding new Princesses because it was already too late.

"I'm sorry, guys. I let everybody down." Sora muttered, leaning back in his seat. "How can I use the Key to Return Hearts to save everybody else if Xehanort could control me?"

"Not if we can help it!" Donald declared stubbornly.

"We ain't gonna give up on ya', Sora." Goofy added. "Gawrsh, I think you're over-thinkin' things a little, 'cause your heart ain't a prison. I'm sure Roxas and Xion know that, and they know that you wanna help 'em. And ya haven't changed one bit."

"You think so?" Sora asked, looking up at his companions who both nodded.

"Do you feel any different?" Donald asked in return.

Sora blinked, then thought hard and then decided to try and feel anything much different about him. The longer he tried, the more he realized that no, he didn't feel strange. The only thing he did notice was hearts that weren't his own; Roxas, Xion, and...now that he thought about it, someone else, but he couldn't feel any pain or dark presence like he should. In fact, now that he thought about it, he sensed more of what the other person said through him, one that sounded like Roxas, but it was of...light.

"...No. Other than feeling Roxas once and awhile, I'm still me. Plus, there's Xion's heart, and...I think there is someone else. But it's definitely not Xehanort." Sora replied.

"Ayhuck! See? I betcha Xehanort was tryin' to make ya his vessel a lot faster back then and the feller you saw as just an illusion." Goofy said, smiling, and Donald nodded in agreement. He then suggested, "But uh, why don't ya ask Riku and the King? They might know more."

Realizing that Goofy was right, and remembering that Riku could have been in some sort of pain when Xehanort's Heartless possessed him, Sora nodded in agreement. "Yeah! You're right! Great idea, Goofy!"

"But we'll be keepin' an eye on you, just in case." Donald added, a bit firmly.

Sora chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Thanks, guys. And...Sorry if I over-reacted."

Just then, the Gummiship's alarm went off which nearly made everyone, even Jiminy who was about to join in the conversation to nearly jump out of their skin. When the four looked out to see what was going on, their eyes widened in shock as a corridor of darkness appeared in the middle of space in the far distance just in front of one of the worlds they were about to get closer to, but one noticebly very large. Then, a large, terrifying monster came zooming out of the portal and quickly flew straight towards them in incredible speed.

It looked like a Darkside Heartless, but without the heart-shaped hole in the chest, the fake Ansem's Guardian Monster without the bandage over it's mouth, and even Chernabog that Sora, Donald and Goofy remembered fighting on their way to fight the Fake Ansem in the End Of The Worlds, but without the wings and was about the same size of it, only two or three times bigger, if not five or seven, yet it can still fly.

"A Heartless!" Sora exclaimed, eyes wide in disbelief, and maybe a bit of fear. He'd never seen anything like that thing before, and from the looks of it, it was extremely dangerous. Donald and Goofy both screamed in fear when they and Jiminy saw the size of it.

"Oh my stars!" Jiminy exclaimed, "I've never seen anything like it!"

"It's comin' straight for us!" Goofy cried out.

"Hold on tight, guys!" Sora commanded quickly, taking hold of the steering while Jiminy hopped back into his hood, and Donald and Goofy returned to their seats, fastening their seatbelts. The teenage wielder considered in fighting the unusual giant Heartless, but the way how fast it was approaching, he decided against it.

Instead, he steered the Gummiship to the left and hoped for the best and maybe fight it from behind. But to the group's surprise, the giant monster changed it's course to the right, and it simply flew past them so fast that it almost hit them. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy screamed while their vessel went spinning around and around upside down before Sora struggled to correct their position. It took a couple of tries and he hoped for the best, and the blaring of the ship's alarms didn't exactly help, especially with his ears.

Unfortunately, the giant Heartless had other ideas. It some appeared close up to them, because it grabbed the the gummiship with just one hand which stopped the spinning, and tilted it the right way up, staring at it with it's gleaming evil eyes. Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy would've fallen off their seats if they weren't already buckled up. But when they looked up after getting their barings, their hearts almost went up into their throats and becoming icy cold that they had been captured.

Sora was speechless, not able to think for that split second moment. Donald was shaking violently in horror, almost frozen and not even focusing on reaching for the cannons.

"Do ya' think it's gonna eat us?" Goofy asked in horror. The only reaction he got was Donald gulping nervously.

To their surprise, the Heartless only stared at them before slowly turning the gummiship to the side and back to where they were going and then let go. Confused and wondering what was going on, Sora unbuckled himself and went over to the side of the cockpit while Goofy looked into the same direction. What they saw confused and stunned them even more, because the giant monster was holding another Heartless, one that looked like a sea-serphant or something similar in it's other grasp, squeezing it tightly until with a mighty squeeze, the captured Heartless gave a dying screech before disappearing into oblivion.

"Hey, we didn't see that Heartless behind us." Goofy muttered in realization.

The giant Heartless that strangely saved them gave them a final look before it covered itself up with darkness and just when the group thought of the worst, it simply disappeared and flew into another corridor of darkness that was summoned before disappearing. Sora, Goofy, and Donald who unbuckled himself and approached, could only stare in utter confusion.

"...What was that about?" Sora asked aloud.

"Gawrsh, that Heartless saved us." Goofy realized, but just as confused.

"That was so strange. Why, no Heartless could ever save anybody, or even go after other Heartless." Jiminy remarked.

Donald could only scratch the top of his head, not sure what to say. Jiminy was right; no Heartless would ever do that before. So why that giant thing?

Sora tried and failed to figure it out himself, and he knew that the Heartless were dangerous and needed to be stopped. His first thought when he saw the giant one was that Xehanort and Organization XIII were bringing forth even more dangerous Heartless to make things more difficult and maybe force Sora and his friends to find replacement Guardians of Light, or something more dangerous.

"That's weird." Was all he could say.

* * *

She hadn't meant to come here. Aqua attempted to say as far away from Radiant Garden as much as possible. Instead, she was drawn to this world she hasn't been in for twelve years. The very last place she wanted to be, and her original self wasn't sure if it was because she wasn't ready to face the past yet, or if the corruption was being effected by the world's light, which strangely wasn't as strong as it had been before.

Or perhaps it was a certain light the corruption was seeking, and Aqua could feel the presence of it. However, it was somehow blocked or not quite around and she couldn't even reach it, or acknowledge of it's whereabouts. One way or another, it brought back so many bad memories that it was only increasing the darkness within her.

The Keyblade Master stood in the very place she, Terra and Ventus had gathered before meeting up again in the Keyblade Graveyard. It seemed to be still in works, or rather rebuilt, she didn't know.

"**...I was a fool. The Master did not care at all. It was all lies. He claimed to have cared for Terra, and Ven, but only cared about the Light. Everything was just lies.**" Aqua muttered bitterly to herself, even though her original self tried and failed to break through, even if her heart ached.

"Man, is your brain more mushed than it had been before?" A dark, and strikingly very familiar voice spoke behind her.

Eyes widening and sensing presence behind her, Aqua spun around just in time to see a figure in a black coat emerge from a corridor of darkness. While the black coat didn't give away much, the corrupted Keyblade Master felt a series of mixed emotions rise inside her; that figure...it had a dark helmet that was very familiar. She knew instantly who it was, and both the corruption and her inner light couldn't believe what, or rather who, she was seeing again.

"_**You!?**_** Vanitas!**" Aqua hissed, twice as darkly as ever as she immediately took a fighting stance. Even corrupted, she wasn't in the mood for the return of the one who possessed Ven's heart.

"Funny how you recognize me. I would've thought the darkness corrupted you completely by now." Vanitas smirked behind his helmet, unfazed by the woman's reaction. He then asked sarcastically, "Enjoyed your vacation in the Realm of Darkness?"

"**I thought I destroyed you!**" The former blue-haired woman snarled, ignoring the sarcastic question.

The masked boy scoffed, "Well, you did and yet you didn't. Not yet in my case anyway, but hey. Who cares about time when everything's done for in the near future."

"**I fought you once, I will do it again. This time, I will destroy you for real. Then I will finish what I started.**" Aqua hissed angrily, summoning Riku's Way to Dawn into her hand and took a fighting stance.

Vanitas just laughed evilly. "Oh, I'd love to have a rematch. Unfortunately, I don't have time for that. What I'm looking for is Venny's Heart. And once I get that, I'll be back to find you and force you to lead to his body."

Aqua felt the other half of her gasp in horror, as she quickly realized that Vanitas was looking a way to possess Ventus again and take over his heart and body, much like what happened all those years ago. And darkness or not, she will not let anyone near Ven.

"**It will not HAPPEN!**" Aqua screeched, charging before leaping up and was to slice the masked boy in half. To her anger and shock, Vanitas simply summmoned his Keyblade and easily blocked her attack, and knocked her away. The corrupted Keyblade Wielder spun in mid-air before landing in a crouch on the glass floor, glaring in pure hatred at her enemy.

"You know, as much as I loved darkness, somehow it doesn't suit you. Why you were picked to soon become one of us, I don't think I'll ever know." Vanitas said dryly. "But whatever. Pretty soon you'll be just like Terra."

"**Terra...?**" Aqua muttered, shocked, angered and in disbelief.

Vanitas didn't continue. Instead, he simply summoned a Corridor of Darkness behind him and stepped into it, walking backwards.

"**Wait! Where's Terra!?**" Aqua demanded, giving chase and made to catch her old enemy. But was too late as Vanitas was already gone and the Corridor of Darkness disappeared. Furious that she missed her chance, the Keyblade Master screamed in anger, with darkness growing stronger around her body as she thrust the Keyblade into the thick glass, making a crack.

And yet, the light within her struggled to fight against the corruption, which had Aqua breath heavily. Calming down, the former blue-haired young woman sighed, letting out a soft sob of anger and sorrow. Tears dropped onto the glass. She had been so close getting the answers to at least one of her friends, and yet she had been played a fool. The words Vanitas said echoed in her mind loudly, as while she didn't much care, her original self was horrified to realize that she is to become fully one with darkness.

And she knew who had done this. Xehanort had more plans than ever, and now intended on using her due to Aqua having spend far too long in the Realm of Darkness. Sighing, Aqua stayed there for a few more moments, as the light and darkness in her body continued to struggle, with the latter beginning to win.

By then, Aqua began to believe that Xehanort had truly won, and all that mattered was to show this truth to everyone that all hope is lost.

* * *

Meanwhile, Riku and Mickey had just arrived in the Town Square of Radiant Garden, and were glancing around for any signs of Aqua, or at least Sora, Donald and Goofy. At the moment, it seemed like they were first to arrive back here. They decided to wait here and kept an eye out on either Aqua or any signs of Heartless or Organization XIII.

"Do you feel her?" Riku queried after a moment of silence.

Mickey nodded firmly. "She's gotta be around here somewhere. I don't know where, but, it's definitely her. The darkness may have taken over her body, but Aqua's still fightin' it."

The silver haired teen nodded, knowing that Mickey was still holding out the belief that Aqua was still in there. Though how much longer before the corruption done it's work was anybody's guess, and if they didn't find her soon, the Organization will end up having her, if they hadn't already. The only way to save her was the Key to Return Hearts, and Sora still needed to find three more of the pieces of light, which could be anywhere in any world. Radiant Garden had to be a candidate world for one of the pieces at least.

"Yeah." Riku said, before muttering aloud. "But...what did she mean by calling Sora 'Thief of Hearts'?"

"Good question." Mickey replied, folding his arms in deep thought. "On the other hand, she reacted to when Sora told that everything would be okay, but...I know I heard somebody else when he said it. Someone...very familiar."

"It sounded like Roxas, but...he never met Aqua before. So who is it that you find him familiar?"

"That's the problem. I never met Roxas before either. Though, from what you said, you saw somebody else in Sora's dream, didn't you?"

The younger Keyblade Master nodded, thinking deeply as he recalled meeting three others in Sora's dreams when he attempted to wake his best friend up from Xehanort's nightmare. "Yeah. It was a test of sorts. First it was Roxas, and then I met another guy who looked just like him; except, he hard this kind of armor thing on his arm. He didn't tell me his name. That's when after that I saw the girl who looks like Kairi..."

Riku trailed off as his eyes widened in realization. "That must've been Xion...!"

"A boy with an armor on his arm...and Roxas looks just like him...Gosh, I think I saw the photo with Roxas and those other fellas in Radiant Garden. The one you gave to Sora, Donald and Goofy." Mickey thought deeply.

It wasn't until he put the pieces of the puzzle in his mind and he gasped in realization, turning quickly to Riku and exclaimed in relief, shock and amazement. "That's Ven! Riku, the fella that looks just like Roxas, it's Ventus that you saw!"

"Wha-? Really?" Riku asked, shocked to hear this. "Then, that means..."

The King nodded. "Yep! If we're right, then Ven's heart's inside Sora's heart too!"

"No way..." Riku muttered, stunned. If that was true, then Ventus was inside Sora's heart all this time and no one even knew it.

Their conversation was put on hold when they heard and sensed more familiar presence behind them. Riku and Mickey turned just in time to see Sora, Donald, and Goofy approach, as the trio were looking around their surroundings with looks of awe. The duo couldn't blame them; Radiant Garden really did come a long way since last year.

"Whoa...!" Sora breathed. "It looks like a completely different world."

"It's beautiful!" Donald remarked in agreement.

"Gwarsh, I really like Radiant Garden the way it is now." Goofy admired, taking a sniff at the flower bed he and the others were passing, and then sneezed despite the lovely scent.

"Leon and the guys did amazing job restoring it!" Sora said, smiling widely. He then noticed both Riku and Mickey who were waving at them. So the spiky-haired teen waved back as he, Donald and Goofy, who also noticed, approached. "Sorry we're late."

"It's okay. Glad ya' could make it. Was there a problem?" Mickey replied.

The trio shared a glance, remembering what happened before turning back to their friends, with Sora beginning. "Well, um...There was this giant Heartless that appeared out of nowhere, and..."

Sora then went on to explain to Riku and Mickey about how the massive, scary looking Heartless seemingly attacked them and their gummiship, but then it saved them from another Heartless before leaving, and concluded. "...And that's why we were a bit late."

"A giant Heartless..." Riku whispered to himself. Somehow, as he heard Sora describe what the monster looked like, sounded awfully familiar.

"I don't understand. Why would a Heartless save ya's? No Heartless would ever even think of doin' something like that." Mickey said, confused.

"Yeah. It didn't attack us." Donald nodded, still shaken by the experience.

Goofy tapped the side of his head, before suggesting. "Do ya' think Master Yen Sid would know about the giant Heartless? I got a bad feelin' about it."

The King nodded in agreement. "Me too, Goof. In fact, it sounds like a Heartless that..." He trailed off and gasped, realizing why the Heartless sounded familiar. "It's the same Heartless Riku and I saw in the realm of darkness! But it didn't attack us either."

"No way! You saw that Heartless too?" Sora exclaimed in shock after he, Donald and Goofy jumped in surprise.

"That's right. It has to be the same one. It has a strong darkness, but what doesn't make sense is that why it didn't attack us, or even save you." Riku responded, remembering as well.

So the Heartless came from the Realm of Darkness on it's own? Or was it Xehanort freeing it to cause more problems? None of them could understand the real meaning of the massive monster or why it simply ignored them or saving them from danger. Unfortunately, their conversation was cut short when normal sized Heartless suddenly appeared, alerting the five of them who gasped as they saw the monsters.

"At least we know _these_ guys are bad news!" Sora grunted, quickly summoning the Kingdom Key. His friends followed in suit as Riku summoned the Braveheart, Mickey summoning the Kingdom Key W, Donald bringing out his Staff, and Goofy summoning his Shield.

However, just before they could attack, more monsters appeared but not like what Sora, Riku, Donald and Goofy had been expecting. Instead, these things were blue with red eyes, and just as jittery as the Shadow Heartless. While the four of them were stunned by the new creatures that were neither Heartless, Nobodies or even Dream Eaters, Mickey's eyes widened as, after careful and quick glance, almost instantly recognized them.

"No...What are the Unversed doin' here!?" The King exclaimed, horrified.

"Unversed?" Sora and Riku chorused in confusion, before one of the Monsters leaped for an attack. Sora reacted quickly and slashed it out of existence, while Riku took out a Heartless that came shortly after.

"Let's worry about what they are later! We have to take them out!" Riku yelled out.

"Right!" Sora replied, knowing that his best friend was right.

The group charged and fought the Heartless that threatened to destory the Heartless and the Unversed that appeared to cause harm. Sora slashed and sliced at one Heartless that nearly clawed him, then dodge-rolled when an Unversed tried to attack him as well. The spiky-haired teen chanted Thunderaga at the blue Monster which not only got hit, but it also crashed into both another Heartless and another Unversed and Sora wasted no time in finishing all for off by tossing his Keyblade, destroying them in two hits.

Then as a belly-ish like Unversed appeared and jumped, it landed hard to create a shockwave that seemed powerful. Sora thankfully jumped high before attacking it before it could it try again. In the meantime, Riku was taking on a flying Unversed that swooped down to try and scratch him, but the silver-haired teen ducked before casting a Dark Firaga at it, and then as it shrieked in pain, he thrust his Keyblade into it when it flew low enough for him to do so. Then a Gargoyle like Heartless appeared and hit him unexpectedly on the back, but Riku jumped back before it could try again and fought it until it was destroyed.

Mickey took on both Heartless and Unversed at the same time, using his agility to swipe both at once before jumping high into the air to take on a flying Heartless, using his Orb of Light to finish it before it could attack him. The King then noticed a Flower Unversed shooting a poison dart at him, but he used a Barrier spell to protect himself before leaping out of the way, avoiding the second attack. He then struck it with his triple-air somersault move, defeating it and then moved on to the other monsters.

Donald used his Fire Works spell, followed with his Flare as both magic attacks took out many Heartless and Unversed as he went. Though a couple of the flying Heartless and flying Unversed avoided his attack which made him annoyed. So he tried to freeze them with his Blizzaga, but only managed to get one. Losing his temper, the Magican then ducked low to avoid the Heartless trying to attack him before using Thunderaga at the monsters, though Sora, Riku and Mickey took them out while Donald managed to take out three before jugging down the last of his Elixir, knowing he has to be careful now.

Goofy spun around and around while hitting as many Heartless and Unversed as he could, doing some damage to the Belly-Unversed and the Gargoyle Heartless, but managed to take out the normal Heartless and the smaller Unversed. He then held up his Shield to protect himself when a Soldier Heartless charged, but was reflected by the Captain of the Knights' shield. Goofy then whacked it into oblivion before hurrying to help his friends with the rest of the monsters of both kinds.

The five of them kept on at it until there was only four left. Before Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy could take them out, though, two Heartless were quickly taken out by a familiar flying Shuriken that appeared out of nowhere, while two Unversed were thrust into oblivion by a familiar man with a Gunblade. The owner of the weapon stood up, revealing himself to be none other than Leon who stood there, while Yuffie, catching her weapon she tossed, hurried over to join him.

"Didn't leave any more for me to handle?" The dark-haired man asked, sarcastically with a smirk.

"Leon! Yuffie!" Sora, Donald and Goofy exclaimed happily upon seeing two of their old friends again. Mickey smiled in relief as well to see them, while Riku blinked in surprise by the unexpected calvery.

"Heya, guys!" Yuffie greeted enthusiastically, putting away her weapon and racing over to meet the group, and teasingly pouted. "Aww, and you didn't invite me to beat up those Heartless punks and...whatever else those blue things were?"

"Yeah, sorry." Sora sheepishly chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "Those guys just appeared outta nowhere, and we haven't been here for long."

Leon snorted in amusement. "I'm not sure if you guys are like monster-magnets or not."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Donald pouted, annoyed.

Mickey couldn't help but chuckle a little, before speaking up to the two residents of Radiant Garden. "It's great to see ya's again, fellas."

"Likewise, your Majesty." Leon replied, as he and Yuffie turned to gaze at the King.

It wasn't until Yuffie noticed the fifth member of the group and blinked in surprise, while Riku blinked, a bit startled. The teenage female ninja then grinned and turned to Sora, asking, "Is that who I think he is, or is he a new friend?"

"Oh!" Sora remembered, then introduced the two to Riku. "Leon, Yuffie, I'd like you to meet my best friend, Riku."

"Uh, it's nice to meet you in person, Leon and Yuffie." Riku greeted, somewhat nervously.

"I thought so!" Yuffie said, her grin widening. "Sora never stopped talking about you or trying to find you. Glad to see you guys finally back together again and it's nice to meet you, Riku!"

"Thanks." Riku replied, which only made Yuffie quirk an eye-brow. Sora shrugged, apologetically.

"Pleasure to meet you, Riku." Leon greeted, holding out a hand to the seventeen year hold who, with a slight hesitation, shook it with a smile. Once the two let go, the silent man then turned to Sora and the others, asking. "Didn't expect to see you here. Any idea what's going on?"

"Well, we thought that one of the missing Keyblade Wielders named Aqua would be here, we're still looking for these pieces of Light that'll help us locate the Key to Return Hearts to save her and everybody else who need saving, and then those blue monsters the King calls the Unversed came out of nowhere." Sora explained as briefly as possible, folding his arms to his chest in thought.

"The Unversed?" Yuffie asked, about the blue monster part. Everyone turned to Mickey who now held a bit of a frightened and serious expression as he knew, while not wanting to believe it, who was responsible for the Unversed appearing.

So he nodded and explained, "They're monsters that feed on negative energy in everybody. Like the Heartless and the Nobodies, they're dangerous. Thing is, they only appear because of one fella who Aqua and I defeated a long time ago; Vanitas."

"VANITAS!?" Sora exclaimed, shocked and horrified as that triggered the memory of what he saw in Ventus' memory earlier; how Ventus mentioned the guy in the mask to Terra who somehow knew the enemy's name, which was...he then slowly gazed at the area he and his friends were standing in and came to a realization. This was the area that Ventus and Aqua had been at before their departure, and not in the best of terms.

Plus, as soon as Sora blurted out Vanitas' name, he could've sworn he felt the same feeling he felt like in the Mysterious Tower and back in Arendalle, though those times were mainly about Aqua. So why was Vanitas involved with Ventus?

"Sora, you know him?" Mickey asked, surprised by the teenager's reaction.

"Y-Yeah, sort of." He replied, hesitant. "I only heard of his name from one of Ventus' memories I've been seeing lately."

"Ventus's memories?" Leon queried, puzzled.

"Ventus? Who's Ventus, and why are you seeing that guy's memories?" Yuffie asked, dumbfounded.

Before Sora could answer, Riku suggested. "Maybe we should continue the conversation somewhere else, before the you-know-what find us next."

"Then let's head over to Merlin's house for now, and then figure out where to go from there. In the meantime, Ienzo might have an update on the situation with Roxas." Leon declared.

Everyone else nodded in agreement. Though as Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy followed Leon and Yuffie up a small ramp to further in town, Sora paused for a moment to gaze around the area, with a look of sadness which also weighed in his heart. To think that he thought this was a new look for Radiant Garden. Now he knew it was restored to the way it was before; because this area is identical to when Aqua told Ven to return hom, and that she hadn't wanted him to get hurt. Worse still, now Vanitas was back.

'_I guess this means Xehanort brought him from the past with a vessel waiting too. Or something..._' Sora thought to himself, disheartened at the fact that the evil Keyblade Master had even thought of bringing the masked guy back who both Mickey and Aqua had already defeated.

Knowing that the only way to learn more about Vanitas is from King Mickey, Sora hurried to catch up to his friends, not yet aware of what else was going to happen.

* * *

**A/N: I am aware that Sora meets Vanitas in the Monsters Inc world, but because this story is mostly different from the real KH3, it's turned out like this instead.**

**See you later in the next chapter!**


	39. Chapter 38: Another Clue

**Author's note: The mystery behind the mysterious Heartless is yet to be fully revealed, but to give you a hint, no, it's not Terra. But fear not, he will appear. I mean, we're still a long way to go, with several more worlds to be seen. In the meantime, let's continue the adventures in Radiant Garden.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 38: Another Clue.

It hadn't taken Sora's group long before they arrived at the familiar house, and while the area looked different to the last time they were in Radiant Garden, Merlin's home was the same on the inside. Still a bit cramped, but very homey, and there was still the computer that still sat at the opposite end of the door. Inside, Aerith once again made herself at home, and by the computer was a familiar man with short blonde hair, wearing goggles, but with a blue t-shirt, brown pants, and black boots, typing down something.

Though for some reason, Merlin wasn't here. Instead, Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy noticed an unfamiliar person in the room. It was a young woman with black hair similar to Tifa's, but wearing a long sky-blue sleeveless duster coat with small white angel wings design sewed on the back, with matching finger-less long gloves up to her elbows, and as she, Aerith and the man, Cid Highwind turned around, the young woman was wearing a sleeveless black shirt with matching leather shorts, and boots. She had a cute face with dark eyes.

"Look who's come into town!" Yuffie announced to the trio in the room, moving aside to reveal Sora's group who waved with a smile, while Riku nodded politely in greeting.

"It's great to see you!" Aerith greeted happily.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in." Cid remarked in a tone of sarcasm, as usual.

"Hey there." Sora greeted back with a wide grin, and Donald, Goofy and Mickey waved happily to the duo, and Riku nodded his silent greeting. The teenager then blinked in surprise when the dark-haired woman went up closer to him and bend slightly, as though wanting to get a better look.

"You must be Sora." She said gently.

"Uh, y-yes, ma'am." Sora stuttered, not sure how to respond to that.

"I thought so." The woman giggled, standing up straight before gazing at the Disney Trio. "And you must be King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy."

"Yes, ma'am." Mickey replied with a nod, while Goofy and Donald quickly stood in attention.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Rinoa." The woman, calling herself Rinoa, replied. "Leon and the Restoration Committee told me all about you."

"Well, mainly Aerith and Yuffie. Especially since the latter did all the talking." Cid interjected dryly, quickly adding before Yuffie had the chance to retort. "And lemme guess; the other kid with ya's is a new friend, right?"

Realizing that Cid was talking about Riku, Sora turned to his friend and then made the introductions with Riku, Aerith and Cid who said their hellos and Aerith giving out her relief that Sora's best friend is safe, which made him blush and that Yuffie and Aerith explained that Rinoa has been missing since eleven years ago and recently was found thanks to Merlin who found her in another world recently.

"Where is Merlin, anyway?" Sora asked about the wizard.

"He went to check up a few things with Kairi and Lea. He shouldn't be too long." Leon answered. "Though, he did ask us to keep an eye out and if anything should go wrong, we'd follow him."

"Is somethin' wrong?" Goofy asked, as concern quickly grew. Not just him, but the others as well. Especially Sora who could've sworn he felt his heart stop for a second or two.

"Are Kairi and Axel okay?" The spiky-haired teen asked, worriedly. He hoped that they were, because Sora wouldn't be able to handle it if Organization XIII had somehow found the entrance to the Timeless Realm which, explained by his friends, was where Time hardly moved, if at all. Meaning that anyone can train all the time in the world. If they had, then no doubt they'd take Kairi at first oppotunity, and while Sora did wonder how strong she was now, he'd never forgive himself if he lost her again.

Then there was Lea, who despite having been in the first Organization, as Axel, he atoned while wanting to see Roxas again. Axel had sacrificed himself, and was thought lost forever. Instead, he returned with his heart restored, and saved Sora from becoming Xehanort's thirteenth vessel. Since then, Sora had come to respect the redhead as a friend, so losing him again would break Sora's heart as well, and he was certain that Roxas and Xion would both be devastated.

"I'm sure they're fine. Although, Merlin did say that their test was sabotaged, but at the same time, Kairi and Lea are still in the Timeless Realm." Leon explained.

"Do ya' think it's Organization XIII?" Goofy whispered to Donald who shrugged.

"Does Master Yen Sid know?" Mickey queried firmly.

"Yeah, Merlin told him a little while ago." Leon nodded, "Though Merlin thinks it's someone he knows, and, in his words, isn't as dangerous as the Organization, but if that person has allied themselves with the enemies or not is still unknown."

"Someone that Merlin knows?" Sora asked, confused now. He turned to Riku and asked, "Do you know who that could be?"

Riku shook his head. "No. The only ones I know would know about the entrance would be the Organization. But even they wouldn't know how to get there without help from a wizard."

"Yeah, that old long-beard guy might be clumsy, but I have to admit that he isn't stupid." Cid rolled his eyes, scoffing. "If anythin', he get himself out of jam without even tryin'."

"Hey, you stop making fun out of Merlin." Rinoa scolded, folding her arms in annoyance. "He's an amazing Wizard and you know that."

Aerith nodded in agreement with a peeved look on her face, placing her hands on her hips. "Why is it that you and Merlin always have such childish arguments?"

"What? I just gave 'im a compliment!" Cid shrugged, cluelessly.

"But you still called him an old, long-bearded guy." Yuffie pointed out, adding with a hint of a warning. "And you know what happened the _last_ time you called him old. He blasted you with his magic."

"Sorry, Cid. But they all have a point, you know." Leon smirked slightly, amused by the slightly horrified expression on the older man's face. In fact, he could've sworn he's seen Cid turn a slight shade of white at the reminder. "Plus, everyone knows that Merlin hates being called old."

The engineer groaned, holding his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. I get it. Message received." He then glared at Sora's group when they were snickering and trying not to laugh. "And don't you guys go start laughin'! None of ya's had the Wizard blast magic at you!"

"No, but Donald did clobber Sora on the head one time. You never mess with magicans and their magic." Goofy replied, which had Donald glare at him in annoyance and Sora scratched the back of his head at that reminder.

"But if there's somebody out there lookin' for Kairi other than Organization XIII, who could it be?" Mickey stated, concerned. "I don't think it's Maleficent, since she's looking for something else that is dangerous. In fact, she'd be comin' after me for it, which I don't have."

"Don't have what?" Yuffie asked, puzzled.

"Some Book of Prophecies that Pete mentioned." Sora began, "That's actually one of the reasons why we came here."

Sora, Riku, Donald, Goofy and Mickey then explained to Leon and the others about everything they learned so far, such as telling them who Ventus is and what happened to him, looking for Aqua who was corrupted by darkness which Yen Sid thinks was the darkness of Xehanort, and then explaining that Maleficent is after the book which Mickey has come to realize that she thinks it's connected to Jiminy's Journal and wants the datascape that he and the others used to decipher the Journal and had learned about Sora's connections with those connected to his heart.

Sora even revealed that he discovered Xion's Heart within him alongside Roxas, and the memories he'd been seeing that weren't his since Twilight Town.

"Man, your heart's like a hotel or something." Yuffie remarked, stunned.

"I guess..." Sora scratched the back of his head, sheepishly, before sighing. "I just don't get how Xion's Heart ended up inside my Heart or even what happened to her. Or why everyone even forgot about her in the first place."

"Can your heart really do that?" Rinoa queried, bewildered.

"Yeah. Even Ienzo was amazed about it." Sora admitted, then added. "But now...there's another heart I'm not sure of inside me. But I felt it; it was when we had to fight Aqua in one of the world's we'd been in. It wasn't Roxas or Xion, and I never met Aqua until recently."

"I have a theory on who it could be." Mickey stated, causing Sora and everyone else to gaze at him, as the King continued. "If Aqua reacted to what you said even though you didn't know it, then there's only one person who could do that; Ven."

"Huuuuuh!?" Sora, Donald, Goofy and Yuffie all exclaimed in disbelief.

"Ven!?" Donald exclaimed, shocked. Memories instantly returned to him and Goofy as they recalled meeting Ventus for the first time; back then, when Mickey had burrowed Yen Sid's Star Shard and vanished, the King lost it and Ven had found it which lead him to the Mysterious Tower where the two had been waiting for Mickey to return. After discovering what happened to him, Ven volunteered to rescue him as a favor in having been saved himself, but failed and had been lured into Xehanort's trap.

Sora blinked in disbelief upon hearing this. "Wait, are you saying that...?"

Shaking his head, he turned to Mickey and asked, "Your Majesty. How did Ventus end up losing his heart?"

Mickey sighed heavily, gazing down slightly in guilt before forcing himself to look back up to Sora, and explained. "It was at the Keyblade Graveyard a long time ago. Ventus, Aqua and Terra fought against Master Xehanort and Vanitas, who was the apprentice if I remember correctly. Vanitas took over Ven's body to forge a fake version of the X-Blade, but it was still pretty powerful."

"A fake X-Blade? Does that mean Xehanort tried to use Ventus and Vanitas as an easier way to make that stupid thing?" Sora questioned, and somehow he could feel a slightly painful reaction to what Mickey was saying.

"Xehanort explained that he'd been impatient to get what he wanted, and admitted it before he tried to...well, use you, Sora." Riku spoke up this time. "He wanted to use Ventus's pure light as one of the halfs to create the X-Blade."

"Ven couldn't beat 'im." Mickey shook his head sadly. "Aqua and I had to fight Vanitas, and she stopped him. But from what we understand, Ven and Vanitas fought each other in his heart, striking each other down. But Ven lost his heart and it never came back to him. Master Yen Sid said that he was lookin' for a friend; somebody to keep him safe."

"So...you're saying that Ventus' Heart somehow went inside my Heart the whole time? How come you never told me?" Sora demanded, shocked but at the same time realized that it made sense.

"We didn't know until ya' mentioned that you were seein' the memories that didn't belong to you; Roxas, Xion, Ven, everybody connected to you." Mickey replied apologetically. "We're still not sure if Ven is inside your Heart, Sora, but if you're seein' even his memories, and the memories of Roxas and Xion-"

"It's because it could be true." Sora finished for him, placing a hand to his chest. "I'm seeing their memories, because of their hearts inside me."

Before anyone else could say anything else, Sora's Gummiship began to ring which surprised them. Puzzled, the teenager pulled it out and answered, revealing the face of a familiar blue-haired man.

"_Is this a bad time?_" Ienzo asked, seeing the reactions of everyone's faces.

"Oh! Ienzo! Uh, n-not exactly." Sora replied, sheepishly. "Actually, we're in Merlin's house."

"_You are?_" The young scientist asked, looking rather very surprised. "_When did you get here?_"

"Maybe an hour ago." Sora answered, then suddenly realized somethat they were talking in the same world and, sharing a glance with Mickey, Riku, Donald and Goofy who, apparently coming to the same idea, nodded like they knew what he was thinking. He turned back to the phone and suggested, "Hey, can we meet in the lab in person? We're with Riku and the King too and, we have a few things we need to find out about."

"_Of course. I have some news about Ansem's code and the replica we need for Roxas's heart. We'll meet there._" Ienzo agreed.

"Great! We're on our way!" Sora said, and after the two shared their short goodbyes, they hung up and the spiky-haired teen put his phone away.

"Welp, looks like we're one step closer in savin' Roxas." Mickey declared happily.

Sora and the others nodded in agreement, and after a planning of discussions with Leon and Yuffie declaring they will search around town for any Heartless and Unversed activity, Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy said their goodbyes to Aerith, Cid and Rinoa, before taking off from Merlin's house to head over to the Castle, with Aerith promising to give them an update about Merlin and on Kairi and Lea, to which Sora and Riku thanked her for.

* * *

Meanwhile, Aqua, still reeling the fact that she missed her chance in destroying Vanitas as well as getting answers about Terra, if he was telling the truth, stood in the Purification Facility that was surprisingly as good as new as well, gazing down at the fountains and the huge man-made lake below, deep in thought. She could sense the light, several of them.

It hadn't taken her long to learn who they belonged to, but her inner self gained some control, much to the irritation of the corruption. But Aqua was unable to return to normal on her own. Her mind was lost to everything she went through since returning to the Realm of Light.

So far in her dark mission, she always failed, and it infuriated her. She keeps failing at everything, and Aqua was frustrated. Her friends, her home, even with the corruption trying to teach everyone that friendship is weak...nothing the Keyblade Master did worked.

'_Terra...Ven...If only I hadn't took you both for granted._' Aqua thought to herself, miserbly, only for the darkness to shove her back and replaced by the corruption yet again. Just as well, because she sensed the unwelcome company before she could even hear the Corridor of Darkness opening, and behind her Saix appeared.

"**Who are you?**" Aqua demanded darkly, turning to face him.

"No one you should be concerned for the time being." Saix replied, coldly. "What brings you here to this world?"

"**None of your business!**" The former blue-haired woman hissed. "**But I sense darkness within you. Your eyes...they're just like Xehanort's.**"

Saix snorted. "Hmph. You are as smart as they say. But you can relax. I'm not here to fight."

Aqua eyed him suspiciously, not quite willing to fully trust the mysterious man in the black coat. Though it did beg the question on how his hair was still it's natural colour. Then again, maybe it was a different corruption she was sensing from him. It's still related to Xehanort, but not what she is going through. However, there was something else about Saix that she couldn't place.

"**Then why are you here?**" She finally asked.

"For many reasons which I cannot say." Saix responded, approaching the railing to stand next to Aqua who took a couple steps back. He gazed at the fountains while continuing. "This would has fallen into darkness once. But unlike most worlds that lost their hearts, it was reformed into a world of darkness within the Realm of Light. It has since been reclaimed and rebuilt to it's former glory."

"**How do you know of this world?**" Aqua questioned darkly.

Saix was silent for a moment or two, considering his words. He knew he couldn't give away too much information or reveal that Radiant was his and Lea's home until eleven years ago, when everything changed for both of them forever. Plus, he still had Kairi and Lea to keep an eye on in the Timeless Realm, as well as Mim who hasn't been keeping her word and he shouldn't known better.

But he had to make it count and let the Guardians and that Wizard Merlin handle that old hag.

"Darkness cannot be destroyed. It's everlasting. Light, however, is very fragile." Saix eventually said. "Like a burning candle, it can go out even by a gentle drift of the wind, or continue to burn until there is nothing left. Yet it keeps on returning in a never ending cycle. Such as the nature of our hearts."

After a slight pause, he continued while turning his gaze to the woman next to him. "The outcome of how Light and Darkness clash will always be uncertain. After all, one cannot truly predict the future."

"**If you're asking me to join you to bond with darkness, you're mistaken. But then again, I no longer walk on the path of light, either. My goal is to make sure everyone knows that friendship will only slow you down, and trusting others always leads to betrayal.**" Aqua said coldly, turning away before walking off.

"Yes, indeed." Saix agreed, which made Aqua pause in the middle, and turned back towards him as he continued. "Especially when your dear friends replace you, and you have nothing left. That is something, I will admit, you and I have in common."

"**You were betrayed too?**" Aqua queried, the darkness corrupting her making her curious.

Saix nodded. "Darkness can be comforting when you are alone."

The Keyblade Master's brows narrowed even further. "**That will not stop me from doing anything. If you fight me, then you will be erased.**"

"I will be looking forward to your future." Saix chuckled, before teleporting away and leaving Aqua alone once more.

She stood there for a moment, not sure what to think or what to say. Was this some kind of trick to get her back to the light, or was it something else? Aqua looked at her red-covered hands and clutched them. So it seems that she wasn't the only one who had been lied to. Darkness can be comforting when you are alone? All it seemed to do to her was fill her with the nightmares of the Realm of Darkness, and send out frightening monsters for hours on end.

'_**It must be this world trying to turn me away from the truth that I know of now. It's trying to drive away the darkness, to bring forth more lies. I must go.**_' Aqua thought to herself, only to sense a mixed presence of light and darkness from outside of the Purification Facility.

Narrowing her eyes, she knew who they were. So she headed outside to find those presences.

* * *

Sora had been very amazed at how much things have changed and restored since the last time he'd been here. The castle had a much easier access to now, the hallways were fixed up and lit up more, with a mixure of a fancy feeling to it which reminded him of places Beast's Castle, only more modern. The only things that were the same were Ansem's Study, which has been cleaned up since the last time too, and the Computer Room.

That hasn't changed even the slightest, but it was still a cool place to be. One of the guards, Dilan, who Sora, Donald and Goofy remembered as Xaldin but were surprised that he was, in his way, a lot nicer now, lead them, Riku and King Mickey to the Computer Room before leaving to continue to patrol the area. There they found Ienzo and Aeleus, which, while Sora wasn't familiar with, he had a feeling that Roxas was, and so was Xion, but not as much.

The five of them told Ienzo and Aeleus one of the reasons why they came here in the first place before the young scientist had called.

"Hmm...Well, unfortunately, there hasn't been any sight of Aqua, as far as we know." Ienzo finally said.

"Oh." Sora muttered as he and the others slumped in disappointment.

"Looks like we missed her." Goofy sighed.

Mickey didn't say anything, still feeling guilty for what Aqua was going through. He could've sworn she'd been here, and could sense that she still was, but the corruption was slowly becoming stronger despite that the light within her was still fighting. Could he have imagined it this time?

"We'll find her, and we'll save her from the darkness. I know we will." Sora reassured with determination. "Just like we'll save everybody else too."

"In that case, about Roxas." Ienzo spoke up, knowing that they have other matters to attend to. "First, the replica...Even is still missing."

"Missing? Whaddya mean?" Mickey asked, as he and Riku both jumped, alarmed.

"Oh, right. We forgot to mention." Sora muttered apologetically, while Donald and Goofy held guilty looks.

Even Ienzo realized that Mickey and Riku were left out of the loop. "Ah, yes. My apologies. The thing is, Even has vanished a while ago."

"What!? We're too late?" Mickey exclaimed, shocked.

"Yes. Even would know all about the replicas from his time as Vexen in the Organization. He was recompleted like the rest of us, but he didn't regain consciousness. After Lea left, he must have woken and taken his leave. Aeleus here and Dilan went out and turned the whole town upside down to try and find him, with the help of the Restoration Committee. But no Even." Ienzo explained.

"That's not good." Mickey sighed, worriedly.

"What about his research?" Riku inquired.

"Other than what we found, unfortunately, his work on the replicas was imcomplete. There may still be documents around, but all of them from well before he made any significant progress." The young scientist said.

"Well, we haven't seen him yet, either." Sora said, shrugging.

"Do you know where he could be?" Donald asked.

Ienzo shook his head, "There's no place that he could go now that he's human. He has no means of leaving this world."

"The dark corridors..." Mickey muttered, as realization set in.

"Are beyond his faculties and mine now." Ienzo finished.

Sora, Mickey and Donald all lowered their gazes to the floor in disappointment. Though Goofy and Riku were both thinking deeply about what they were hearing and both of them then came to their own realizations.

"Hmmm...But didn't Axel use the Corridor when he left? He used it to save us and Queen Minnie from Maleficent and Pete." Goofy pointed out.

"Yes, that is admittedly true. However, it took great energy for him to do so, even with the coat he kept when he awoke. As such, the more one uses it after being recompleted, the more strained it becomes. Lea was already nearing his limit by the time he informed us of what happened, after he helped all of you to save Sora. It's very likely that Lea's heart is no longer bound to the darkness." Ienzo informed.

"So...the Black Coats can only protect Nobodies and people with darkness in their hearts and allow them to use the Corridors anytime they want. But not people with hearts filled with light...except for Roxas...and Xion." Sora realized.

"Pardon?" Ienzo blinked, having heard the name Xion, and then suddenly he and Aeleus shared a glance. "Strange. I feel as though...that name is familiar."

He turned back to Sora and asked, "Do you know of this person?"

"Sort of." Sora scratched the back of his head. "For some reason, her heart is inside me, too. Just like Roxas. But I'm not sure how she got to this point or what happened to her body."

"Then this Xion is the other heart in Ansem the Wise's data." Ienzo realized, going over to the computer and typed in a few key strokes which then revealed a page as Sora's group got closer to it. "We've discovered a very interesting passage, which is to related to Roxas and Xion."

He then began to read aloud for the others to understand. "_"I have discovered three unique hearts inside of Sora's. One is Roxas. The second has been with Sora for nearly as long. And a third has resided in Sora's heart for even longer-most of his life, in fact."_"

"_"This is a truly astonishing discovery. While these hearts have now melded with Sora, grown silent and indistinct, Sora retains the memories of all three. The memories have been compartmentalized, each placed in it's own box, so to speak. I surmise the hearts can be awoken, provided that each of them is returned to the box that contained the correct memories. Unite the heart with it's memories, and provide it a suitable body within which it may flourish, and I believe any or all three of these people can be made real again."_" He finished reading.

"Roxas...Xion..." Sora muttered, before placing a hand to his chest again. "And if we're right, Ventus, too."

"It does make sense." Mickey realized, gazing up at the younger Keyblade Wielder. "Ven's heart must've gone to you without even knowin'. Or maybe you don't remember, because you were quite small back then."

"There are a lot things I don't remember back then. Besides, I was four years old." Sora shrugged, though at the same time, it does make some kind of sense. That still begged the question of how and why Ventus went to him. Not that Sora wouldn't wanted to help him.

His eyes widened when that thought came to him. Was that why? Like he usually does now, maybe Sora decided to help out Ventus without even understanding. And in a way, he didn't think it would change, but now that left him feeling guilty for having had the missing Keyblade Wielder's heart inside his own for so long. And the memories...they must be awakening and at the same time, not taking over Sora's memories...because Roxas, Xion and Ventus wouldn't want that.

"I gotta find the Key to Return Hearts to save them. Aqua, Terra and Namine, too." Sora declared, "And figure out what happened to Xion and find Ventus' body. He's still out there somewhere."

"And the only one who knows where he is, is Aqua." Riku reminded, before stating. "Speaking of which, not everyone can't use the dark corridors. What if Even was taken?"

"Of course!" Mickey piped up, realizing what Riku meant. "The Organization could also use the replicas!"

"To fill out their ranks!" Donald added.

"They must've kidnapped Even so that he could make the replicas for everybody from the past." Goofy nodded, counting down the numbers so. "There's the fake Ansem, Xemnas, Xehanort from the past..."

Sora nodded, "They even taken Xion from the past too. I could hear her say that to me, when we had no choice but to fight. But...how can she remember if everybody else forgot when they go back to where they came from?"

"If you were seeing the memories of those in your heart, do you know of what Xion was doing?" Ienzo questioned carefully.

"Yeah. She was in the Organization, and was best friends with Roxas and Axel. But then, something awful happened. I'm not sure why, but...she was talking to Namine, and I think it was when my memories were messed up. She said..." Sora trailed off, and told them what Xion and Namine were talking about.

* * *

_"...I'm ready. Otherwise I wouldn't be here. I also know that Roxas should be going back with me." Xion was saying, her voice full of tears and resignation. "But...I don't think he would understand. Not yet."_

_"I know." Naminé nodded in agreement with sadness of her own. "Roxas can't feel Sora just yet..."_

_"Naminé, will you please watch over Roxas once I'm gone? You won't be_

_alone. I asked someone else, too. There just isn't anything else I can do." Xion requested, as she was finding this hard and harder, but she knew...she had to do this._

_"All right." Naminé nodded._

_"Thank you."_

* * *

"...I just don't get why she could be part of me, if she's her own person, even though she looks like Kairi." Sora muttered after he finished explaining.

'_Someone she asked to watch over Roxas? Maybe that's the other reason why Roxas wanted to stop the Organization, other than to meet Sora._' Riku thought to himself. The more Sora talked about Xion, the more he began to feel like he did know her. Though there was something else that still didn't make any sense, and that, he began to realize, was making him feel guilty for her disappearance.

"Well, there is another thing you guys should know about the Organization." Mickey admitted to Sora, Donald and Goofy who gazed at him, confused. Even Ienzo and Aeleus were curious.

The King and Riku then went on to explain about the situation with Terra, much to the shock of Sora's group who shared worried looks.

"We'd better tell Master Yen Sid." Mickey announced, "Then, we'll keep on lookin' for Aqua, and worry about Roxas, Xion and Namine."

The King then turned to the trio. "Sora, Donald, Goofy, you keep an eye out for Terra and find the rest of the Pieces of Light and the Key to Return Hearts."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Sora, Donald and Goofy replied, standing in attention and respect.

"We'd better go. Thanks, Ienzo." Sora said to the former Organization member who nodded.

"Certainly. Take care." Ienzo replied.

* * *

As Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku and Mickey exited the Castle to tell Leon and the others that they were leaving, their thoughts were on what they learned and discovered so far regards to the hearts inside Sora's heart. Still, with Even in the Organization's clutches, which they had nothing else to state otherwise that made sense, it made things more difficult. Though that still left with Aqua on whether she was among the Thirteen or not.

But as they just walked through the front gates, Sora, Riku and Mickey suddenly jerked to a stop when all three of them sensed a strong presence of darkness flash before their eyes. The three Keyblade Wielders turned sharply to their right and they, and even Donald and Goofy who noticed them doing this, saw down the alleyway, was a figure in a black coat walking away, seemingly not noticing them seeing him or her. The way how the person looked in body quickly told them that it was a guy.

"Organization XIII!?" Donald snapped angrily.

"But who is that?" Goofy wondered.

"Nothing but trouble, most likely." Riku warned.

Sora glared at the guy's back, but it wasn't until he noticed something familiar in the member's hands...a square shaped item, that looked like a book. Not just any book, but...For a split second when the guy walked around another corner, Sora's eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of the book's cover; he couldn't see it probably, but the letters W and P were enough to make him realize in horror what it was.

No...Not that...

"Hey!" Sora shouted, and without thinking, quickly dashed off after the guy and leaving behind his friends who all gasped in shock and confusion on why he was running off.

"Sora, wait!" Mickey cried out, as he and the others quickly ran after him. To their dismay, Sora had already run up ahead of them, which meant that they had to find him quickly before he got himself into huge trouble.

* * *

Sora followed the figure as best as he could, finding himself in the Gardens which, as he looked around, lead towards the side of the gate as another way to enter the castle, and to an iron door to his left. Though he noticed that it was open, which told him that the guy in the black coat could have gone that way. Nodding to himself, he raced up towards and ran through, passing the short passage before he found himself at the Reactor.

Slowing himself down to a stop, the spiky-haired teen glanced around quickly for any sign of him, but realized that the guy wasn't here. Where could he have gone? But as Sora did, he quickly found that there was something familiar about this place. Like he's been here before.

No...Not him. But...Sora's eyes widened as he remembered one of the memories he'd seen that belonged to Ventus, Terra, and Aqua.

'_This is the same place Ventus and Terra mentioned Vanitas!_' He thought to himself. This place...was where the two of them and Aqua didn't part ways well. Though he noticed that it looked like it's still in the progress of being rebuilt, and there was a crack on the glass in front of him. That was unsettling, and Sora hoped that it wouldn't crack even more and break all together.

Unfortunately, Sora didn't have time to think of continuing on to find the guy in the black coat, or even how not to fall through, because out of the huge portal of darkness above him was a giant monster that was a mixture of a giant jelly-fish and kind of looked like Oogie Boogie in Halloween Town, only jelly-like and with a symbol of the Unversed. It was black like a Heartless, but Sora knew otherwise.

"The Unversed!" He grunted, quickly summoning the Kingdom Key. Just great. This guy now delayed Sora's attempts to find the Organization XIII guy who'd taken the book he knew was close to his heart.

The Unversed made the first attack by stretching out it's arms and it sank into the glass below and at first Sora feared that it would break. But was surprised that it didn't. Instead, the arms suddenly reappeared in front of him which forced him to jump back when it began throwing Flames at him. The Keyblade Wielder leaped and jumped to avoid in getting burned until the attacks stopped before he tossed his Keyblade at the arms, hitting it's mark and causing the giant monster to roar in agony twice.

The Unversed hissed, but Sora didn't give it a chance to attack with it's arms again, because he focused on his Flow Motion before surprisingly, especially to himself, flew straight up towards them and struck hard several times before the giant monster was forced to withdraw it's limbs. Though when it did, the Unversed roared once more and charged by sliding so fast that Sora barely had time to react. It bashed him which sent the teenager flying backwards in pain. Fortunately, Sora quickly flipped and landed safely on the glass, but winched at the unexpected attack, before being forced to dodge-roll when it tried again.

"Thunderaga!" Sora chanted, the thunder spell immediately zapping the monster who roared again in pain, which allowed Sora to use a Hi-Potion on himself and despite his Magic running low, he used his Flow Motion again to leap around the Unversed, using the walls and pipes to his leverage before bashing it with his Keyblade on the head, which made it sink a little like a jelly-pancake for a moment or two, allowing Sora to slash it.

Only for it to sink into the ground just as Sora landed himself, and looked around quickly, trying to figure out where it was. Then, he sensed it; right underneath him. Clentching his teeth, Sora jumped back as quickly as possible, narrowly escaping just in time when it re-emerged only with several more hands swishing and slashing so quickly that the spiky-haired teen had to keep on dodging and jumping all over the place. But thinking quickly, Sora jugged down the resupplied elixir before using his Flow Motion to strike each limb without the Unversed who roared in fury and pain the more he did this.

"Hey, Jello-head!" Sora taunted, and just as the giant Unversed turned to gaze at him while attempting to recover, the teenager Wielder went into his Wisdom Form and shot out magic as quickly as possible, making it hard for the Unversed to attack him even when it shot out a huge set of flames itself but repeatedly missed, except once but it was just a minor burn that Sora forced himself to ignore.

It took Sora a bit of a while and hard fighting, especially with the Unversed being hard to beat on his own and mentally slapped himself for running up ahead of Riku and the others, but eventually Sora successfully gave a final strike at the monster who roared one final time before sinking like it was melting and then vanished without a trace. The spiky-haired teen panted before casting Cure on himself to at least heal the burns he received before hearing familiar voices call out his name behind him. Turning, he saw that Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy had finally caught up to him.

"Are you okay?" Mickey asked once he and the others stopped in front of Sora.

"Yeah. Just had to handle an over-grown Jelly-Fish Unversed thingy." Sora replied, which had four of his friends gaze at him in surprise and no small amount of amazement, and hints of guilt.

"Sorry we couldn't help out. More Heartless and Unversed slowed us down." Riku said.

"Aw, c'mon. It's no biggie." Sora reassured his best friend, adding confidently. "I can handle giant monsters any day of the week."

"He does have a good point." Goofy whispered to Donald who nodded in agreement. Even though they were worried about Sora's safety, he has managed to fight a couple of giant monsters on his own and despite having lost some of his powers and only now was regaining them through out this journey, the spiky-haired teen has grown stronger through out the past two years.

The conversation was then cut short when the group suddenly sensed the same dark presence, and Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy looked to see who was approaching behind Sora who, seeing their reactions and also sensing the presense, turned around and saw the same guy in the black coat who stopped half way across the five travelers.

What was in the mysterious man's hand made Sora's group gasp. Now that it was in clear view, they saw the title "Winnie the Pooh" even from the side, which confirmed Sora's fears.

"I knew it...! Pooh's Storybook!" Sora hissed, glaring at the enemy. "Who are you?"

The figure said nothing at first and instead simply took off his hood...yet his face was still unrevealed due to the dark helmet, but while Sora, Riku, Donald and Goofy didn't recognize him, Mickey's eyes widened in horror and disbelief, memories came flooding back to him.

"Gotta say, that strange facade had me fooled at first, brother." The masked guy, about the same height and age as Sora, remarked to the spiky-haired teen who tilted his head slightly to the side in confusion.

"Huh?" Sora murmured.

"Vanitas!" Mickey exclaimed angrily, which shocked his friends as they glanced back and forth between the King and the masked boy who, also noticing him, scoffed once he recognized the mouse.

"Well, look who it is? The meddling mouse who saved Ventus and Aqua. I didn't think you'd still be alive, Kingy." Vanitas taunted, holding a smirk behind his mask.

"Wait a sec..._this_ is Vanitas?" Sora asked in disbelief. While the King nodded to confirm it and he felt that there was something oddly familiar about him even though Sora started to think that maybe Ventus really was in his heart, he then demanded to the masked guy. "And hey! Who are you to call anyone strange?"

Goofy shared another glance with Donald, asking softly. "So this is Vanitas the King told us about?"

"Sure looks like it." Donald whispered back.

"We haven't met in flesh, and yes, I am Vanitas. Didn't you hear what your King just said?" Vanitas said to Sora.

"Met in flesh? What's supposed to mean? And where did you get that book?" Sora demanded, before adding. "Unless you're just gonna get to the part where you spout some mumbo jumbo and disappear."

Vanitas didn't respond Sora's questions. Instead, he held up the book to examine it a bit more closely, saying. "This book is filled with more positive emotions rather than negative emotions. Only with an occasional sadness and anger, but not enough to fill us with much negavity that we need. Not even in it's illusion counter-part was enough to bring in the real Unversed or Heartless."

"What do you mean by that?" Riku demanded. "Sora said that Heartless only teared the pages but never been able to enter it's world."

"True, but what if those with darkness and in human form can enter it? Before you ask, no, I haven't. Why would I waste my time with a bunch of animals in a story book that's meant for little kids?" Vanitas stated. "Like this world even though it's been rebuilt from it's darker side, this book is filled with ever-lasting light which makes me sick."

"But you set darkness into it, didn't you?" Sora sneered angrily, while now worried half to death about Pooh and everyone else in the Hundred Acre Wood. If Vantias did manage to actually set in Heartless and/or Unversed, then he had to get the book back before it was damaged all over again, especially since his friends in Pooh's world were most likely in danger.

To his surprise, Vanitas shook his head. "Not me. Someone else even I don't know of. Like I said, this book was a complete waste of time. Fortunately, I found a replacement filled with negative emotions, and she fell right into my trap. Her new negativity was rich enough for me to collect it, as well as sending out the Unversed."

Horror sank in when the group thought of only one person that could've been filled with negativity, and that only increased the guilt in Mickey's heart.

"What'd you do to Aqua?" The King demanded.

"Oh, we just talked, in this very same spot earlier. Too bad you missed her, because she still has thoughts of 'teaching others' a lesson, the sadness of being alone and finding out that she still can't find Terra. Not that the white hair suits her, but who cares?"

"You just increased the darkness that corrupted her!" Riku grunted in realization.

Vanitas ignored Riku's accusation, and instead continued. "My heart is just made of one thing. And the Unversed collected enough of her negativity despite that she destroyed them."

As though done with the book, Vanitas tossed it towards the group, to which Sora stumbled and quickly caught in his hands, breathing a bit of relief. It was still in one piece, and the restored cover of the last time he'd been in the book was safe for now.

"But even with all of this negative emotion, my heart is still incomplete. I need something else." Vanitas continued. "The The half of me that sleeps on..."

He held out his hand and sent out a large surge of darkness which knocked back everyone except Sora who gasped and cried out the names of his friends who all landed hard onto the glass platform.

"...Inside of your heart." Vanitas finished, suddenly reappearing behind Sora who spun around, and his eyes widened at the sight of the dark gear-designed Keyblade. In that instant, the same feeling he felt back in Arendalle burst again, like the time when they were confronting Aqua.

"_Vanitas!_" Sora exclaimed, again with the voice that sounded like Roxas, but wasn't. And again, that feeling vanished instantly, leaving Sora once again confused.

"Wait...was that...?" Sora murmured, placing a hand to his chest. It happened again. Then, did that really mean...but how did Ventus get inside him?

As though satisfied, Vanitas spoke, yet not to Sora apparently this time. "Ventus...What a strange place to slither off to...You insignificent speck..."

Mickey, Riku, Donald, and Goofy slowly pushed themselves up and their eyes widened in horror when they saw that Vanitas had his Keyblade out to Sora, and what the masked boy had said somehow only confirmed the King's theory.

"What are you talking about?" Sora demanded, even though he couldn't help but now really believe that Ventus really was inside his heart.

"Oh, you wouldn't remember..." Vanitas muttered to Sora this time. "When you were little, you formed a special bond, with a boy named Ventus who joined with your heart."

'_I formed...a special bond when I was little? Was that why Ventus' heart went inside me?_' Sora thought to himself. If Vanitas somehow knew and Sora felt the unusual feeling that wasn't his own twice, then that means Mickey was right.

"Sora...Ven..." Mickey whispered, worry increasing into fear. He knew what was going to happen. No...It can't happen...not again!

"Now, you will return to me, Ventus." Vanitas declared, as darkness began to form around him and already spreading. This caused Sora's heart to suddenly ache as he cried out in pain, falling to his knees and holding a hand to his chest. It had him feel a sense of deja vu happening, and in this very world no doubt.

"Sora!" Riku exclaimed in horror, realizing what was happening.

"SORA!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed, as they ignored their pains and leaped in front of their friend, and quickly brought out their weapons, standing in front of Sora who looked up half weakly, using themselves as shields despite Goofy already having his shield out.

"Donald...Goofy..." Sora muttered, breathing with slight difficulty.

Riku and Mickey, seeing how their friends were in danger, especially Sora, shared a glance and nodded as they knew what to do. So, as silently and discretly as possible, they made sure that Vanitas was too busy before slinking away to the side to form a plan; Mickey silently stood behind the masked boy while Riku stood by Vanitas's right.

"We almost lost ya' when Xehanort tried to turn you into his vessel! We're not gonna lose ya again!" Goofy grunted, struggling to hold Vanitas' darkness back from engulfing Sora.

"You're not gonna get to Sora! No way!" Donald declared to Vanitas with determination, also struggling.

Not impressed by the inteferences, Vanitas growled darkly, "Stay out of the way!" and blasted stronger darkness which sent Donald and Goofy flying backwards once more, landing behind Sora who gasped in horror, but still in too much pain to do anything.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed, worriedly, struggling to stand up.

"Join your heart...with mine!" Vanitas commanded, rising his Keyblade...

"NO!" Mickey screamed out, and just before Vanitas even realized what was happening, the King leaped and in quick speed thrust his Keyblade at the masked boy's back, forcing him to the right with the weapon glowing in Light to help boost his strength.

Vanitas didn't have time to recover, because Riku whacked him with his Keyblade to the left and blast him with a Dark Firaga that sent the masked boy flying, getting a taste of his own medience while the new member of the Organization screamed in pain and in alarm. He crashed into the wall hard before slumping forward, his own dark Keyblade dismissing itself. By then, Mickey stood in front of Sora, his arms spread out to shield the relieved teenager.

"We're not gonna let ya have Sora's heart or body, and most definitely not Ven's heart again either!" Mickey yelled, glaring at Vanitas who looked up, slightly weakened by the surprise attack. By then, Riku, Donald and Goofy, who both recovered, stood along side the king, while Sora, feeling the pain ease and the aches fading, thankful for his friends for saving him, stood up and despite their concerns, stood ready.

Seeing that there were too many of them at the moment, Vanitas simply stood up while glaring at them behind his mask but wisely decided that it was time to leave.

"Fine. Be that way. But just so you know, I will find Ventus, and have him rejoin my heart. One way or another, and don't expect to find and save that useless Keyblade Master, either." Vanitas declared, before he summoned a Corridor of Darkness behind him and stepped backwards into it, vanishing out of sight as the portal closed.

Sora and the others stood there tensed for a moment, until they were convinced that Vanitas was gone...for now, at least.

"Thanks, guys. I seriously owe you." Sora said to Riku and Mickey, gratefully.

"You okay, Sora?" Riku asked.

"Yeah."

"I'm so sorry, Sora." Mickey began, his feelings mixed with relief for having saved Sora, and guilt for not having realized the truth sooner. "If only I knew a lot sooner, you, Riku and everybody else wouldn't have gotten involved."

He then hung his head low, unable to meet anyone's eyes. "It's all my fault."

"Oh, come on, Your Majesty. How can it be your fault? Xehanort's the one who did all this in the first place." Sora pointed out. "I'm sure even Ventus knows that."

Despite this, however, Sora sighed and placed a hand to his chest once more, admitting with guilt of his own. "I just wish I knew more about this too. All this time, Ventus' heart was inside my own, and I didn't even know it. Maybe Xehanort was right; my heart is a prison."

"Sora..." Donald murmured in sympathy.

"When did he say that?" Riku asked, angered that Xehanort would say such a thing about Sora.

"It was in the cathedral, in one the Sleeping Worlds." Sora confessed, his heart feeling heavy in the guilt that renewed itself before the giant Heartless attacked. "I couldn't get what he meant back then...but now I do. Ventus, Xion, Roxas...they're all trapped inside me...and I haven't even realized it!"

By then, Sora felt like breaking down even though he tried to stop himself from losing it. "I'm the one who's sorry. I'm sorry I kept Ven away for so long!"

"That's not true, Sora." Mickey shook his head, feeling worse now that Sora was blaming himself for his own mistakes. "Your heart's not a prison. Xehanort just wanted to get to Ven, 'cause he somehow figured it out that you have his heart. And I bet that's why Xehanort went after you."

"It's still my fault, though." The spiky-haired teen pointed out.

"No. Ven wouldn't have gone to you if he didn't think that you'd be willing to help. I guess even though when you were little, you still wanted to help others. Not sure why he chose you, but I think it's the light in your heart that made him decide that his heart was safer to be with you." Mickey told him. He strongly believed that, and the king had a feeling that Ventus had made the right choice.

"Just like how Kairi's heart ended up with me too?" Sora queried, remembering the time that Kairi's heart was inside his heart as well, which up until facing 'Ansem' who'd possessed Riku, explained why he kept on seeing hallucinations of her. He then blinked and thought of something else. "So maybe Xion did what Ventus did. Even though I never met either of them."

"But you still woulda helped them if they were in trouble, right?" Goofy pointed out optimistically.

That perked up Sora a little, and nodded. "Yeah, of course I would! How can I not?"

"Well, that's one thing that hasn't changed. You've always been one to help out even when we were kids." Riku chuckled with a smile, gazing at his best friend fondly. "You always did what your heart told you to do."

"He's right." Mickey nodded in agreement. "Gosh, Ven was just like that; helpin' out others more than helpin' himself." He then sheepishly admitted, "Even though he and I are sorta alike when it comes to not followin' instructions."

"Really? You, Your Majesty?" Sora blinked, surprised to hear this. That was a hard thing to absorb. He never would've guessed that King Mickey Mouse would not follow instructions as much. Though on the other hand, now that he thought back of helping the King's past-self at the Mysterious Tower illusion in the Sleeping World, Mickey did use Yen Sid's hat without permission and tried off some magic tricks.

Mickey shrugged, somewhat embarrassed. "Well, uh...I wasn't always as responsible as I am now. Though I guess nothin' changed much. But the thing is, when Ven lost his heart, Master Yen Sid said he was lookin' for a friend. I guess he meant that a friend that whether Ven met yet or not, and he chose you. Besides, he wouldn't want ya' to blame yourself for not rememberin'. 'Cause I have a feelin' he doesn't either."

"Gosh..." Sora whispered, then sighed. "I wish I could talk to him."

"You will. After we save Aqua and find his body." Riku reassured.

"But we gotta find the Key to Return Hearts." Donald reminded.

Even though Sora still felt guilty for not having saved Ventus sooner or remember their connection, he knew that his friends were right. In a way, he couldn't wait to meet the guy. The way how Mickey described him made Ventus sound like someone really cool to be friends with.

"Yeah, you're right." Sora nodded, his determination to save everyone connected to his heart renewed.

"Garwsh, what about the book?" Goofy suddenly remembered, which almost instantly jogged everyone's memories of their reason of coming to the reactor in the first place.

"Oh yeah! I gotta check to see if everyone's okay!" Sora exclaimed, gazing at the book still in his hand that he'd actually forgotten about. "I hope they're alright."

"We'll be waitin'." Mickey told him, as he and Riku knew that Sora wanted to check up on everyone inside the book's world.

"I'll be back as fast as I can." Sora promised, and the others nodded. He gave Donald the book as the latter then opened it wide before Sora summoned his Keyblade and held it out. The blade's tip and the book then gave out a warm glow before the light engulfed Sora who then slowly shrank and then vanished into the book, returning to the world of the Hundred Acre Wood.

While Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy waited and making sure there weren't any more Heartless or Unversed, or that Vanitas might come back for round two.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, um...we'll be making a brief visit to the real Hundred Acre Wood despite that we've already been to it's illusion with Kairi and Lea. But there is a good reason for it because that visit won't even fill up the whole page in the next chapter. I couldn't fit it in this chapter, but that's no biggie.**

**Hopefully the next chapter will also have the beginning of the next illusion world Kairi and Lea will be visiting. See you then!**


	40. Chapter 39: More revelations

**Author's note: Not much information to say, so enjoy the latest chapter, fellow readers, if you please.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 39: More revelations.

It hadn't been long before the light faded and Sora blinked and looked around his surroundings. To his relief, it was the familiar, peaceful fields and forests all around him. He smiled in relief as he instantly recognized the place and that everything seemed find at the moment.

"So far so good." He said to himself. Now, to make sure everyone in this world were okay. "Wonder if Pooh's nearby?"

Even though the Hundred Acre Wood is usually a peaceful place and the only threat around here were the Bees, which the worst case scenario is that you get stung by them which even that was minor compared to what the Heartless could do, Sora thought back briefly on what Vanitas had said.

_"__Why would I waste my time with a bunch of animals in a story book that's meant for little kids?"_

"He's wrong. Everyone here are my friends. They all have hearts too. They're all around us." Sora shook his head, deciding to ignore Vanitas' dark words and bad names. With that in mind, he raced off to find his friends of this world.

He didn't have to search long, because a familiar voice could be heard in a short distance, saying. "Today, I believe, is a good day, for being Pooh."

"That's Pooh's voice!" Sora softly exclaimed in relief, and excitement. So he followed the source and smiled as he saw the aforementioned bear climb up a tree, humming to himself.

"And here, I should say, is a good place, for being Pooh." Pooh continued to himself, resting on a branching, giggling. "But the best reason of all is-"

"Hey, Pooh!" Sora called up, racing up to the hilltop, waving. He stopped at the base of the tree.

"Being with my very good friend, Sora." Pooh finished, with a beaming smile to see his friend again after what felt like a long time. "You are just in time for the best part of today."

"What part?" The spiky-haired teen queried.

"The part where you and me..." Pooh began, as he jumped and sent himself sliding before flying off the tree and falling down. Sora's eyes widened as he quickly turned and held out his arms, stumbling as the stuffed bear landed nearly while concluding. "Become 'we'."

Though the surprisingly strong force of the landing made Sora hop uncontrollably backwards before he and Pooh went rolling down the hill behind them before coming to a complete stop at the hill itself. Sora then helped Pooh to stand and the two good friends smiled.

"So how have you been?" Sora asked.

"I've been quite alright, Sora. Though there were days that I missed you, so I'm glad you've come back." Pooh replied. "I was afraid I would forget you again, but I remembered the promise you and I have made."

The bear then placed a hand to his heart, adding. "I thought about you every day, and even though you were not here, it's almost like you never gone away."

That made the teenage boy smile as he reassured him. "Hey, I did promise to come back to visit. But it's like I said, I'm always with you, no matter where I go."

But just as Sora had said this, something within him acted up strangely. Almost as though...a connection was starting to tear itself apart, and it had him widen his eyes a little. Why was he feeling this way? Was it Roxas or Xion missing Axel? Or...was it Ven losing his connection with Aqua and Terra since both of them were corrupted in darkness? As soon as he felt it, it somehow re-attacted itself, but somehow something else filled in that connection...and he couldn't help but think of Kairi.

"Is something wrong, Sora?" Pooh asked, worriedly as he noticed the wide-eyed expression on his friend's face.

"No, I'm okay. Don't worry." Sora replied, a bit sheepishly. "I guess it's been so long that I missed coming here."

"Hmmm...Think, think, think..." Pooh muttered, thinking as usual as he felt that Sora missed the Hundred Acre Wood, before an idea came into his mind. "Perhaps a visit to all our friends will cheer you up?"

"Sure. That's a great idea." Sora nodded in agreement. Plus he did also want to check up on the others; Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Kanga, Roo, and Gopher. So, he followed Pooh to find and visit everyone to see what they were up to and how they were all doing.

* * *

Despite his concerns that darkness somehow formed, Sora found that everything was just fine. Piglet was a bit braver but still the same and friendly, Tigger was just as bouncy as ever, Rabbit still tended to his garden and honey pots, Eeyore was still gloomy, but Sora found that Piglet, Pooh and Tigger helped him build a new house in an area called "Pooh and Piglet Corner", Owl was eager to tell Sora more stories, Kanga, Roo and Gopher were all happy to see him again as were everyone else, and they even made a new friend, a friendly young Heffalump named Lumpy who was best friends with Roo and Tigger.

So Sora hanged out with them with fun activities and helping out with a few things while making sure that there had been no darkness or Heartless or Unversed around. There was something he didn't quite get, but no sooner had the day in the book world began to end, the uncomfortable feeling began to fade. Sora, Pooh and their friends all then met up at the same hill they would hang out, though they were sad that Sora would have to leave again, but he had things to do, but at the same time knew that he would come back soon.

"Sora. May I ask you something?" Pooh spoke up, breaking the silence as he and everyone else were watching the sun set.

"Sure." Sora nodded, curious on what Pooh has to say.

"I had this strange dream, where you had gone far away. But then I saw um, myself with everybody and somebody I don't know. We went on this quest to find him and you, and had help from two new friends." The bear explained, which surprised Sora, and even had the others gaze at him curiously.

"Who were they?" Sora asked.

Pooh thought, and tried to remember and when he realized, due to his very little brain, he could only recall a few things about the people in his dream and sighed. "Oh, bother. I can't seem to remember. I think, one of them was pink and red but very kind, and the other, very tall but nice as well, was red and um...blue? Or was it black? But I did remember all the times we did together."

'_Pink and red, and red and black? Wait...could it have been Kairi and Axel? How did Pooh dream up about them, if they're in the Timeless Realm?_' Sora thought to himself in realization. It wasn't until he got another piece fitted into the puzzle of the mystery.

Someone had taken Pooh's Book and if Leon was right, then someone, not from the Organization, but that Merlin knew, tampered with this world and maybe created an illusion that Kairi and Lea had to face...like a dream of a world that never fell into darkness, and even though everything was okay here, somehow it effected Pooh to the point him actually seeing it in his dreams. He'd have to check with the two of them and Master Yen Sid.

"It was also scary, but it ended happily. I think." Pooh concluded.

"Glad to hear that. But you shouldn't have to worry. I'll come back." Sora replied, relieved that Pooh didn't have a fully terrible nightmare. It still left him worried, though.

"I'm glad Pooh's bad dreams turned good in the end too." Lumpy, the light-purple Heffalump, said.

"Me too." Roo added.

Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit, Eeyore, Owl, Gopher and Kanga nodded in agreement, as they, Roo, Lumpy, Pooh and Sora gazed up at the sky once more, with a gentle wind blowing the leaves across the sky. This was a moment that even Pooh would remember...if he could, of course. But there was one thing he will always remember.

That Sora will be in his heart forever and ever.

* * *

It only seemed like half an hour since Sora entered the book, because as Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy were waiting for him at the reactor, the book glowed once more which surprised the four of them, until a bright light formed and before they knew, Sora, who had said his goodbyes to Pooh and everyone else while promising to visit again, reappeared while the book closed, the Keyhole locking sound filling their ears.

As Sora turned to greet his friends, he and everyone else noticed that the front cover glowed and the image of him and Pooh vanished, but changed to that of Pooh and Sora, wearing his current attire, sitting on a log while gazing at the sky.

"Garwsh, the cover changed." Goofy remarked.

"Was everything okay?" Riku inquired to Sora.

"Yeah. There wasn't any trace of darkness in there." Sora confirmed, before sighing and continued. "But, something did happen. Pooh said he had a dream of me and somebody else going missing, and tried to find us with some of the others going with him. Not only that...I think he saw Kairi and Axel in the dream too."

"Kairi and Axel?" Donald asked, incredulously.

"Yeah." Sora nodded. "I think Pooh's Book was used to mess up with Kairi and Axel's test in the Timeless Realm, and maybe they were facing an illusion of the world I've been in; kind of like the Grid in the Sleeping Worlds. I even felt...our connection mess up a little when I meet up with Pooh, but then it returned to normal."

The Spiky-haired teen sighed, worriedly as he gazed at the floor and admitted. "I know this sounds selfish, and our hearts are connected, but I don't want to lose any of my friends."

"There's nothing selfish about that, Sora. We all get like that." Mickey reassured, approaching the troubled teen. "If one of us gets hurt, it hurts all of us. Not knowin' if you can see your friends again after sayin' goodbye, or what could happen isn't easy to handle. But if there's anybody who can keep our connection with everybody alive, it's you."

Sora didn't know what to say to that comment, but as he heard the King say it, he felt some relief, knowing that he was right, and he wasn't alone in having that kind of fear; after all, Mickey himself had to go through that for years after being unable to save Aqua, Ventus and Terra. And Lea too, with Roxas, Xion and Isa. But they shouldn't give up, and Sora won't either.

"Thanks, Your Majesty." Sora replied.

"Hey, wait minute." Goofy spoke up, suddenly remembering something. "What about the Book of Prophecies?"

That caught the others off-guard as they all gasped with wide eyes, realizing that the Captain of the Knights was right. Sora exclaimed while mentally slapping himself for having forgotten. "Oh yeah! That book! We haven't looked in the Castle yet!"

"I don't think there's time to worry about that now. It's clear that we missed Aqua again, and we still have to find her, and the Key to Return Hearts." Riku stated firmly. That made Sora, Donald and Goofy sigh in disappointment, but grudgely admitted that he had a point.

"Let's tell Leon and the others at Merlin's house and ask them and Ienzo to see if Ansem the Wise might had made reports about it. If anythin', maybe Master Yen Sid would know more about it." Mickey declared.

Sora and the others nodded, and also knew that they had to return Pooh's Book back to Merlin's house anyway for safe keeping. While they still didn't know if the Organization hired someone to mess things up with Kairi and Lea's test or even the book or not, they knew they had to get going. So the five of them hurried back to where they came from...unaware that from around the corner even though Mickey, Sora, and Riku felt it but thought it was their imaginations, was Aqua who was glaring at them, hidden. She'd been right; it was them.

But rather than going after them as the corruption would have made her do, the restored light of this world instead had Aqua regain some control once more, and she turned away, summoning a Corridor of Darkness and stepped into it, leaving Radiant Garden behind to go somewhere else.

* * *

As it turned out, neither the Restoration Committee, or Ienzo, Aeleus or Dilan knew anything about the Book of Prophecies but did promise to search the libraries in case there was something that could be linked to it. As such, and Sora not having sensed the Piece of Light meaning that Radiant Garden did not have the Key leading to what they needed either, the five of them said their goodbyes to everyone with promises to visit for updates before traveling in their two Gummiships to head back the Mysterious Tower to give Master Yen Sid their own updates of what they found so far.

As such, Riku and Mickey arrived first and stood before the Sorcerer's Desk. Though not even two minutes since they got here they had the chance to speak, because the door opened behind them and Sora, Donald, and Goofy, who had to fight unexpected Heartless on their way here walked in.

"Sorry we're late...again." Sora greeted apologetically.

"It's okay. We had to fight off Heartless too." Mickey said.

The five of them and Yen Sid, who was relieved to have them back at the moment, went into business and discussed what they found out so far; the Organization talking about new Seven Lights, the situation with Aqua, and everything else that's happened.

"...The Organization claims to have their thirteen darknesses." Sora said.

"Can we really believe that it's true?" Mickey asked, concerned as he thought back of what Larxene said as well.

"Well, they already got Xion from the past, but I'm not sure if they know I have her heart inside me for a weird reason." Sora shrugged, worriedly. He turned back to Yen Sid and added. "Not only that, there's something else they keep mentioning. They're after a _"New Seven Hearts"_, which seems to be code for _"let's go bother more Princessses"_."

Yen Sid thought deeply of what he was told, and then responded to those words. "Well, as the original Princesses of hearts' time for protecting the pure light has ended, they have passed the light to others. Our enemy must certainly be cognizant of this. If the _"New Seven Lights"_ is what they wish to call them, then so be it."

'_That explains why Ansem was in Pocahontas' world too. Like Elsa, and Anna, and even Rapunzel that Sora, Donald and Goofy met, she's one of the new Seven Lights too._' Riku thought to himself, which made the fake Ansem's words more sense now. Good thing that she's safe, despite that John Smith had to return to his hometown in order to recover from the injuries after risking his life to save Powtan.

"But Kairi hasn't passed on her power." Sora pointed out, still worried that the Organization is after her. "Is she one of the new seven?"

"She must be. But still, she chose to wield a Keyblade and fight with us as one of the guardians of light." Mickey said and reminded.

"Yeah. But still..." Sora muttered, then asked the Sorcerer. "Leon told us that Kairi and Axel's test were 'sabotaged' and by someone that Merlin knows. Are they okay?"

"I sense that they are. Unfortunately, a member of the Organization has also somehow entered the Timeless Realm, and Merlin cannot get to Kairi and Lea until their training is complete. As such, while Organization XIII may be attempting to abduct Kairi, I am informed that the true master mind is one that Merlin believes is behind this."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Sora asked, pleadingly as one of his worst fears had come true, and the fact that the Organization had asked someone that Merlin knows to enter the Timeless Realm meant that Kairi wasn't safe. "I don't want the same thing that happened to me happen to Kairi or Axel, or anyone else."

Yen Sid shook his head, saying a bit more gently. "I know that you are worried, Sora. As are we all. However, it appears that only one of the Organization tends to go to the Timeless Realm and leaves empty handed. What his motives are, we do not know. We can only hope that Kairi and Lea will pass their test and Merlin will bring them home safe and sound."

Sora slumped, dismayed that he couldn't do anything to help them. He really wanted to help and save Kairi and Lea, but it looked like he'd have to count on Merlin to help them and hope that Organization XIII wouldn't get to them. Still, if only one of the members was going and no one else, could it be Xehanort? Or someone else? He wished he knew, but Sora also knew that it was out of his hands.

"Sora. Kairi and Axel will be fine." Riku attempted to reassure his distraughted friend, despite that he didn't want history to repeat itself either, or even worse. "We'll have to leave it up to Merlin for now."

"I guess..." The spiky-haired teen sighed. If anything did happen, Sora knew he had to do something, regardless on whether he did find the Key of Return Hearts first or not. He'd just have to wait for a while and hope that Master Yen Sid and Riku were right.

"Leon and the others said they're on standby in case Merlin needs help." Mickey informed, despite that he was worried as well. The King then sighed and admitted in guilt, "We still haven't been able to bring Aqua back."

He then looked up, with some determination. "But she's fightin' the darkness that corrupted her. I've seen it."

"Yes, I could sense the remains of Aqua's light struggling to break through the darkness Xehanort had corrupted her. But her only hope in freeing her from the darkness, as I told you, is the Key to Return Hearts." Yen Sid agreed, then gazing at Sora. "As such, were you able to locate the Pieces of Light to it's location?"

Sora nodded, "Well, we found what we think are the Pieces of Light, anyway."

He then pulled out the four keys already found from his pockets and held them out to show the elder man. "See? These are the keys that we found in four worlds; The first one from Twilight Town. Every time we helped out sort out things in the worlds, I felt my heart react and I unlocked the hiding places with the Keyblade, just like you said."

"And they even glowed and showed us the worlds the other pieces are hidin'." Goofy added.

Yen Sid eyed the keys carefully, then focused on the light coming from them and quickly discovered that they indeed hold powerful sources of light within them, especially how they even held strong magic and a connection with Sora's heart.

"Yes..." He finally said, relieved and satisfied that Sora's group had already found four of what they were looking for. "They are indeed the Pieces of Light."

"I knew it!" Sora grinned happily, sharing a glance with Donald and Goofy who nodded in relief. They were all on the right track all along. "I knew they were the right ones!"

"Oh boy!" Donald cheered.

"A-yhuck! That means we only got three more to find." Goofy remarked, adding as he thought of more good news. "And hey, we've tracked down Ventus too. Sora's been seein' not only his memories, but the memories of Roxas and Xion too, and the King and Vanitas said that his heart's inside Sora's heart, just like they are."

"And so did Ansem the Wise in his data, so it almost certainly must be true." Jiminy added from Sora's shoulder.

Mickey nodded, "So when we find the Key to Return Hearts, we can save Ven."

"To do that, we have to find and restore Aqua, since she's the only one who knows where he's hidden." Riku reminded.

Sora, knowing what to do as he gazed at the four Pieces of Light, carefully clutched them in his hand and said. "Leave the Key to Return us to the three of us. I still don't have the Power of Waking, so it's the next best thing."

He then put the pieces back into his pocket while adding, "I still have to figure out what happened to Xion too. Something happened, and everyone seemed to have forgotten about her."

"I leave the location of the Key in your hands, Sora. You have come thus far in finding the Pieces of Light. Find the rest of the keys." Yen Sid strongly advised.

"Right." Sora nodded.

"But, be warned. Your journeys have now become much more dangerous." The Sorcerer continued, which puzzled and quickly concerned Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy. "While you were searching for the Pieces of Light and Aqua, I'm afraid a very powerful and evil creature has risen from it's slumber."

He looked to his left and waved his hand, summoning an illusion which appeared in a cloud of magical dust. When it faded, the illusion revealed, to the shock of Sora and his friends, was a shockingly familiar Heartless in small form due to being an illusion, the same one that not only Riku and Mickey had seen in the Realm of Darkness, but Sora, Donald and Goofy had narrowly escaped from just before arriving in Radiant Garden.

"It's that Heartless!" Sora exclaimed in shock.

"Wait...that's the Heartless that saved you earlier?" Riku asked his friend in disbelief.

"Yeah. Still don't get why though, which is really strange." Sora nodded, before asking. "Wait a sec...you know it?"

"Yeah. Mickey and I saw it in the Realm of Darkness, before we found Aqua. Or rather, she found us." Riku nodded. "But the thing is, it didn't attack us either. It just stared at us before leaving."

Mickey felt his heart hammer in the fear that was increasing as he gazed at the illusion of the monster that he could've sworn would have eaten him up if Riku hadn't saved him when the ground collapsed. What he still couldn't understand was why this Heartless didn't attack them, or why it saved Sora, Donald and Goofy rather than killing them when it had the advantage. Now he knew that the bad feeling he and Goofy felt confirmed that this thing was dangerous.

"Master Yen Sid, what is that thing?" Mickey asked, failing to hide even the slightest shaking in his voice.

"It is called Ourobos. A dangerous beast that can crush even the most powerful of Heartless, and devour any and every single life forms in the Realm of Light, even by devouring the realm itself." Yen Sid answered.

At the fearful looks on their faces but also wanting to know more about the new dangerous threat, Yen Sid then explained. "Long ago, in a time after the Keyblade War and the worlds became what we live in today, one made the mistake to try and enter the Realm of Darkness on their own. They used sorcery to help them without seeking out Kingdom Hearts. But it instead absorbed the magic and darkness from them as well as others, until it grew in strength, as well as the other Heartless and residents of the realm of Darkness, emerging into the Realm of light and becoming what many call the Ourobos."

"Kind of sounds like Xehanort wanting to use the X-Blade and Kingdom Hearts, only worse." Sora remarked.

"That sounds more like Ansem of Wise and Xehanort tryin' to unlock the mysteries of people's hearts, and that's one of the reasons why the Heartless began to appear from the door to darkness." Mickey said, realization sinking in as he remembered his late friend telling him about experiments which while the King was glad that Ansem had put a stop to it after realizing that if he did test it, then the Realm of Light would've been lost a lot soon, it had come too late as Xehanort had already possessed Terra's body back then.

"Both could be considered to be similar cases, but with the Ourobos, it was much more sever. A battle between sorcerers had been in place, as well as the sealing of another which has been defeated. But the creature had already grew so much in strength to which it cannot be fully defeated. The Ourobos seeks to plunge everything into darkness, and it feasts on all life, it's hunger seemingly to never end." Yen Sid continued to explain.

"Whoa..." Sora and Riku chorused in shock, while Mickey, Donald and Goofy gulped nervously.

"Then, how was it sealed away into the Realm of Darkness?" Sora queried.

"There had taken sorcerers, wizards, magicans and Keyblade Wielders like yourselves to fight the Ourobos. Many have lost their lives, while those who did survive used the power of friendship and love to open the door to darkness and sent it away. But, it aqquired a sacrifice. One had to give up his life to go with it while his companions stayed behind to lock it, with the help of the second generation of Princesses of Heart." Yen Sid answered.

"Then...that means..." Mickey muttered in realization, summoning his Keyblade which used to be the Kingddom Key D before he had to merge it with the damaged Star Seeker Keyblade. "The Keyblade of Darkness..."

"And the Keyblade of Light..." Sora added, summoning the Kingdom Key.

"If one can guess, both your Keyblades were created and hidden until the time has come for both to be needed by their true Wielders; which is the both of you, Sora, and Mickey." Yen Sid finished their lines of thought. "As such, the Keyblade of Light needed to be fully completed by the hearts of you and Riku, where as Mickey heeded the call for both, but was chosen by the Keyblade from the Realm of Darkness."

"Because it's our hearts that shape our Keyblades, and even the connection we share." Riku said in realization, summoning his Braveheart Keyblade to compare the other two Keyblades. "That's why my new Keyblade came to me."

"So my Keyblade was made by the one who vanished along with Ourobos in the Realm of Darkness, and then the awful monster went to sleep until now." Mickey muttered, dismissing the weapon. His heart felt heavy with the unbearable thought and burden. "...Is it my fault that the giant Heartless is awake?"

Yen Sid shook his head. "No, Mickey. You are not to blame for Ourobos' awakening. What has caused it to return from it's slumber, however, is yet to be answered."

Mickey still felt guilty however despite his mentor's reassurance. He couldn't help but think that maybe just opening the door to darkness with the Keyblade which got damaged might have triggered the Ourobos' wake up call, especially since Time in the Realm of Darkness doesn't exist. He hoped that wasn't the case, but still...

"What if Xehanort woke it up, though?" Sora thought, causing the others to glance at him curiously. "Do you think that's why he went there apart from corrupting Aqua's heart into darkness? I mean, why else would that guy go there?"

"Of course! Master Xehanort could be tryin' to use the Ourobos to stop us from winning the war." Mickey gasped, realizing that Sora could be right.

"And maybe he's usin' the Orobo, um, Urborrow, um, Obby...?" Goofy stuttered, trying to pronounce Ourobos's name but couldn't.

"It's Ourobos!" Donald corrected impatiently.

"Yeah, that's it." Goofy nodded, then continued. "Maybe Xehanort's usin' it to pretend to be nice to us and then attack us later."

"That sounds about right. Xehanort could have secretly taken control of Ourobos and tell it not to attack us, in order to trick us until it's too late." Riku agreed firmly.

"Yeah, well, since when were Heartless ever nice anyway?" Sora pointed out with a smirk. "We all know those guys have no manners."

Yen Sid, however, stated sternly. "While it is possible that Master Xehanort could be going into much more dangerous strenghts to use the Ourobos in order to outwit us, even with it unusually not doing any of you harm as well as sparing your lives, I doubt even he would go as to having the power to control the creature. Unless severly weakened in battle, the Ourobos obeys no one."

"But it still could've been him. Xehanort did get to Aqua before Riku and I had the chance to save her. Why else would he even go there in the first place?" Mickey pointed out.

Sora nodded in agreement, adding to the point. "And even though Maleficent still wants to take over the worlds, I gotta admit even she's not that stupid go after something that's stronger than her."

But when he mentioned Maleficent, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku and Mickey all quickly remembered what else the evil witch was after and turned back to Master Yen Sid, with the spiky-haired teen adding. "That reminds me! Pete said he and Maleficent are after this Book of Prophecies...whatever that is."

"Just as I thought. As you may have known by now, Maleficent is seeking to use the Data Mickey has used to learn more of the mysteries of the past and your connections with those you need to save, Sora." Yen Sid sighed, somewhat exasperated.

"Right. We figured that Maleficent thinks this Book she's after is connected to Jiminy's Journal and she could try and use the Datascape to learn more about it. So the reason she held Minnie hostage was to force me to give it up. But I think she's after me because she thinks that I have the Book of Prophcies, which I don't. I never even heard of it." Mickey explained.

"The mystery of the Book of Prophecies is yet to be seen. However, it is said to reveal events that have yet to happen. In legend, and it could be linked to the Keyblade War, those who have received replicas of the very book were able to use it's power to manifest everything that do not yet exist." Yen Sid explained.

"You mean...even people?" Sora asked, shocked as he and his friends were stunned to hear this.

"Gawrsh, that must mean the Book of Prophcies can bring in folks from the future." Goofy said worriedly.

"That's why Maleficent thinks the Journal is connected. It took form of Riku to safe guard the memories that were already written to have him and the data version of Sora to already grow their own hearts and take us into the Datascape. In there, everything and everybody felt real and after we spend time of them, they became as real as everybody else." Mickey realized, memories of his, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy's time in the Datascape filling his mind.

"Just like replicas with real hearts." Sora muttered, "And even Roxas's Twilight Town."

Riku frowned deeply, as he came to another realization. "Which means that even Organization XIII could be after it if they know about it too."

"Let's keep an eye out on them." Mickey declared, turning to Sora, Donald and Goofy. "You fellas focus on finding Terra and the rest of the Pieces of Light and watch out for Maleficent and the Organization. Riku and I are gonna keep on lookin' for Aqua. Leon and the others should tell us later on about Kairi and Axel."

"Right." Sora replied in agreement, as Donald and Goofy nodded firmly. "You guys be careful."

"Then you all know what you must do." Yen Sid concluded. "Be vigilant of Ourobos as well, and find a way to defeat it without losing yourselves."

"Yes, sir!" Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku and Mickey said in unison, standing in attention.

With that, they gave their farewells to Yen Sid once more, before the two groups left the Mysterious Tower and split up once more, for Sora, Donald and Goofy to continue their quest to find the remaining Pieces of Light, and for Riku and King Mickey to find and locate Aqua. Now both groups intending on stopping Maleficent and Organization XIII from finding the Book of Prophecies while hoping that Kairi and Lea will be alright and not fall into Xehanort's clutches, and being careful on not to be near the Ourobos.

However, none of them were even aware that the were more to Ourobos than any of them thought.

* * *

_Back in the Timeless Realm; During the Arendalle adventure..._

To say that Saix was disappointed and annoyed would've been an understatement, to say the least. What Kairi had told him earlier in the illusion of the Hundred Acre Wood left him admittedly shocked and furious. At the moment, he found Madam Mim just as she did something with her dark magic in a world of meadows, one that he knew was the illusion based on a world of one of the now former Princesses of Hearts and was speaking to her.

"You said that their only purpose is to be destroyed!" Mim was saying angrily, already fed up with the blue haired young man.

"I believe I merely said that their purpose is to fall into darkness, they are needed for one goal, and that is not for them to vanish just yet." Saix corrected in a dangerous calm but angered tone. "Meddling with their trial is one thing, but to do so with one that has a special place in one's heart and repeatedly try to destroy them will no doubt demolish our plans."

The old woman scoffed, waving off Saix's anger. "Oh, please. You're not friends with that redhead you used to be with anymore, and that little girl is far too precious and filled with light to stay. Wouldn't it be better if they were both perished now and be over with?"

"Because they are needed alive. Do not make me repeat myself." Saix warned darkly. He knew that he would regret in asking Madam Mim for help in order to enter the Timeless Realm, but he didn't have much of a choice. If he wanted to make this go along the way he wanted without anyone even fully knowing what his own agendas were, he had to swallow his pride and take the risk.

Mim eyed him suspiciously, walking up closer to the Nobody and questioned. "Do I hear a hint of atonement in your voice? Because if there is, then you are actually betraying your masters."

"Don't be absurd." Saix replied, not flinching even the slightest, despite the twinge feeling of panic even though he shouldn't be feeling much. But everything he has learned recently told him otherwise. "I have no intentions of being Lea's friend anymore. I am only obeying my master to prepare for what is yet to come."

"Then why do you need that boy and the girl alive?" Mim asked, still suspicious about Saix's words.

"That is not your place to know. We already have enough of a nuisance from Maleficent and her useless cohort. If you continue to infertere with our plans, remember that I will destroy you. If you destroy them, it will not only give grief to Sora, but also do our enemies the favor of ruining everything we have longed for, which to the Guardians, is a good thing. So stay out of the way." Saix warned, and before Mim could demand him what he means, he teleported away to continue his work.

Once again on her own, Mim growled before jumping up and down while having a temper tantrum like a spoiled child. "Who does he think he is!? If those miscreants want to destroy the light, why do they need that girl and the boy alive if they are part of the light!? And why should their deaths be a good thing for the Guardians if it's bad for them?"

Calming down while grumbling, she stormed away and groaned. "I will do what I want, and if he keeps getting in the way, I will destroy him, not the other way round!"

With that, she teleported away herself to continue messing things up for Kairi and Lea. Unaware that Saix's intentions were not as he claimed them to be.

* * *

In a castle courtyard, a beautiful young woman with lips as red as a rose, hair black as ebony, and skin white as snow, despite wearing the rags, was singing to herself while scrubbing the stairs before rinsing off the soap with a bucket of water, then went over to the well to refill it, and still she sang beautifully. So distracted by her own singing, she didn't even realize that it was attracting a handsome young man, a Prince by the looks of it, who followed it.

She then gasped in a bit a fright as he approached and bowed charmingly. At first she ran into the tower, but when the Prince began to sing himself as he hadn't meant to frighten her, the girl smiled as she heard just how wonderful his voice is, and that he was indeed very handsome. So she reappeared and smiled down at him from the tower. It was love at first sight.

Yet, none of them were aware that, witnessing this from a window in another room, was another, slightly older woman who was dressed in black and purple, and despite being beautiful herself, darkness flowed slightly around her. She wasn't going to let the younger girl get away with being the Fairest one of All.

She knew what she had to do to get rid of the girl.

* * *

_About an hour later, back with Kairi and Lea..._

Somewhat refreshed from their adventure in the illusionary Hundred Acre Wood despite that they still had no idea who the woman they briefly saw was, or why Saix had decided to let Kairi go, she and Lea now emerged from the entry point and were standing in a lovely meadow filled with beautiful flowers at the edge of a rather dark and creepy forest, with a tall castle in the distance on the opposite side behind them.

"Wow, they're beautiful." Kairi breathed in awe, suddenly feeling like she and Lea were still in the Hundred Acre Wood, only in the Nice Peaceful spot, only without canyon walls. She bend down low and gently rubbed her fingers against one of the flowers.

"Yeah, I gotta admit, this place has a nice feeling to it." Lea remarked, placing his hands on his hips as he gazed around their surroundings. He then took notice of the castle and the forest, saying with a bit of a concerned frown. "The castle and the forest, though...they give me the creeps."

Despite that Kairi could sense darkness around the said areas her friend mentioned, she couldn't help but giggle and teased him. "You're not afraid of a couple of trees and walls, are you?"

"Very funny." Lea deadpanned, even though he couldn't hold back a bit of a chuckle, before he turned a bit serious and stated. "No. I just can't shake off the feeling that there's darkness around here. I mean the forest is a good of a place for Heartless to linger around, and the castle...not sure why, but I think there's somebody in this world that can cause problems.

"Yeah." Kairi nodded in agreement, standing up. "I can feel it the darkness in those places too. But at the same time, like in the Enchanted Dominion, there's someone else here, filled with light. I think I know who it is, even if like the other worlds we've been in, it's not real."

"You mean like..." Lea trailed off, not sure how to respond or even finish his theory on what Kairi may be thinking. Given what Saix had mentioned earlier and whether or not he was telling the truth, the redhead wasn't certain on what was really going on right now, and that not only bugged him, but he was more worried about Kairi's safety, especially since she'd been a target for a very long time.

Kairi was about to reply when she and Lea then caught sight of movement from the side and turned into the same direction. There was a lovely girl, maybe around Kairi's age with black hair, skin that reminded them of snow, wearing a beautiful blue and yellow dress collecting flowers up on a small hill nearby. Instantly, despite that they knew that like the rest of this world she's an illusion, they recognized her.

"It's Snow White!" Kairi softly exclaimed, remembering also briefly meeting the real Snow White in Hollow Bastion.

"Then I guess this is based on her homeworld. Was it the Dwarf Woodlands or somethin'?" Lea muttered, and wondering if he had the name of this place right.

While she gazed at the illusion of her fellow Princess of Heart, or, if Saix was telling the truth, her former fellow Princess of Heart who was by then helping a baby bird and giving it comfort which Kairi thought was very sweet, what she and Lea hadn't even noticed was that there was a man in green and dark brown, until she saw him approach. To her and Lea's horror as the redhead also noticed, he was holding out a knife, and was approaching Snow White who was unaware.

"No!" Kairi cried out, and without second thought, she and Lea quickly ran to try and save Snow White, realizing that the man was about to kill her. Unfortunately, they hadn't gotten very far as familiar monsters appeared, blocking their path which stopped them from getting closer.

"Beat it!" Lea growled at the monsters, quickly summoning the Flame Liberator, while Kairi summoned the Destiny's Embrace as the two Keyblade wielders knew they had no choice but to fight their way through.

Kairi charged and sliced through a Flower-type Heartless that resembled to a mutant dandelion which shot out sharp blade-like petals that floated down towards her. But she managed to avoid those as much as possible and instead used Fire, though she was surprised that it upgraded to a Firaga which burned the monster into oblivion. A monkey Heartless then attempted to claw her, but the teenage girl jumped back before knocking it back with her Flower Shoot, which sent it flying into two other Heartless and crashed onto the ground. The Princess of Heart sensed movement behind her and ducked just in time to avoid a flying Heartless which, as though realizing too late, panicked before crashing into the other there Heartless and accidentally destroyed them and itself.

While Kairi, surprised to see this, then focused on the other Heartless, Lea thrust his Keyblade in a sky-upper cut fashion on the back of one of the Belly-Heartless before slashing again which knocked it slightly forward before it hit the ground hard. The redhead didn't have time to attack it again as two annoying Monkey Heartless forced him to jump back in order to avoid their sharp claws. He then focused on his Fire before splitting his Keyblade into his Chakrams and then swung them out into different directions where they flew across and smashed through other Heartless including his original target. His weapons then returned to him and reverted back into the Keyblade before quickly jugging down an elixir to regenerate his magic, and then a Hi-Potion quickly before fighting the other monsters that tried to attack him and his friend.

Meanwhile, Kairi spun once while thrusting her Keyblade at a Soldier Heartless when it tried to scrape her. Though when she finished it off, she cried out when she was unexpectedly hit on the side by water done by a Jelly-fish like Heartless, knocking her to the ground. Hissing in pain, she rolled out of the way with slight difficulty to avoid other Heartless before Lea came to her rescue, slashing them before handing her over one of his Hi-Potions to heal her. She nodded her thanks and jugged it down, feeling the effects of it before casting Thunder at the Heartless that caught her off-guard. It was paralyzed which allowed her to use her Flower Shoot again, destroying it before she quickly used another elixir to restore her magic before it would run out.

The two of them eventually finished off the Heartless, but by the time they did and turned back to where they saw Snow White, she was backing away before fleeing from the man who stood there, but the knife was absent.

"Snow White...!" Kairi whispered worriedly, before sharing a glance with Lea who nodded, knowing that they had to save the Princess. The two then raced over to the man who, seeing Snow White gone further into the woods, bend down to pick up the knife, only to freeze when Lea held out his Keyblade close to his face.

"What?" The man muttered, glancing up slowly to see the unfamiliar younger man and the unfamiliar young lady who held out a similar Key-like weapon. Both of them were glaring at him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Lea advised in a tone of warning.

Realizing that if he made the wrong move, he was in trouble. So the man abanboned his movement to pick up the knife and slowly stood up.

"What did you do to that girl?" Kairi demanded.

"...I made her run away." The man replied after a moment.

"Uh-huh. After you tried to kill her, you mean? Care to explain why you wanted to do that?" Lea questioned skeptically, not sure if he should believe this guy or not.

"I didn't want to kill her. I swear, I did not want to kill her." The man said, in guilt and pleading.

While Lea was still suspicious, he and Kairi then saw in the man's eyes that he was telling the truth. But they still held their guard up just in case, as Kairi asked, a bit more gently this time. "Then why did you make her run away?"

"You both are new to this Kingdom, are you not?" The man asked, and when the two companions nodded, he then said. "Then you shouldn't be here. She's mad! She's jealous of young Snow White! She will stop at nothin' to kill her!"

"Who?" Lea demanded.

"Her stepmother, the Queen! She wants me to kill Snow White...and bring back her Heart." The man explained, which made Lea's eyes widen in shock as he softly gasped, and Kairi gasp a bit louder, her left hand covering her mouth in horror. "If Snow White returns, she is in grave danger."

He then turned to Kairi and added, "That is why you should leave too, young lady. If the Queen sees you, she will kill you too."

A chill ran down Kairi's spine when she heard those words. Though she was certain she could at least handle the evil Queen, which explained the darkness she and Lea felt coming from the Castle due to her jealously over Snow White's beauty, and while Kairi didn't think herself as pretty as Snow White and mainly cared about those important to her, this only sent in a reminder of what Xehanort could be doing...what his Heartless attempted to do shortly after Sora sacrificed himself to restore her heart to her body.

Not to mention of what Saix could've done if Kairi hadn't freed herself; he certainly would've taken her to Xehanort who would use her to lure Sora in, to abduct the other Princesses of Heart to form the X-Blade...by killing all seven of them.

'_No. I can't let that happen. I made him go away in my dreams._' Kairi thought to herself, thinking back of the nightmare she had which she had forced him away. Still...what did the voice mean by she still had to face her fears? She mentally shook her head, chastising herself to think that way, when Snow White in this illusionary world was in danger.

She glanced at Lea who did the same and as though speaking with their minds, knew what they had to do. They turned back to the man as Lea then asked, "Which way did she go?"

"What do you mean?" The man asked, then shrank back as Lea dismissed his Keyblade but held him by the shoulder.

"Where is Snow White?" The redhead repeated, more firmly this time.

"Through there." The man pointed at the entrance of the forest quickly. He sighed in relief as Lea let go and stood back. "Why?"

Kairi dismissed her Keyblade and, while a bit chilled by how Lea confronted the man, smiled as she answered. "We'll protect Snow White, and keep her away from the Queen."

"You will?" The man asked, in surprise and growing relief.

"Yeah. Why else do ya' think we went to you? We saw how you were threatening her. Don't like that on anybody. Got it memorized?" Lea replied this time, with a smirk and losing his, as he decided to call it, 'Axel mode'.

This seemed to make the man a bit more relaxed, as he slowly bend down and put away his knife, before standing up again and bowed slightly. "You have my gratitude. Forgive me for all the trouble."

"What will you do now?" Kairi queried, concerned on what the Queen may do if she discovered that the man didn't do what she wanted him to.

"I must confront her, but I know what I must do in order to keep Snow White safe. You must hurry and find Snow White. I beg you to keep her safe." The man replied.

Kairi and Lea both nodded, and silently watched the man take his leave, running towards the castle where the Evil Queen awaited. Once they were certain he was telling the truth, the two Keyblade Wielders turned to the forest, but stood there for a moment.

"You can be really scary, Axel." Kairi commented.

"Sorry. Think I overdid it with that guy." Lea muttered, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. He hadn't meant to scare Kairi like that, and now grew worried if this would make her feel scared of him all over again, especially when the two of them had just become friends.

"It's okay. You were worried too. I could tell." The teenage girl told him. "I'm not scared of you that much anymore. I guess I'm...not as brave as I should be."

The red haired man, relieved that Kairi wouldn't go all nervous and jumpy around him again, smiled a little and reassured her. "Oh, c'mon. Ya' can't be really brave overnight. But that doesn't mean you're not brave at all. Sometimes, when it comes to your friends, you think about them and worry about them more and think less of yourself or how scared you can be."

"Really? Were you ever really scared, Axel?" Kairi asked, a bit curiously.

"Uh, well, I, uh..." Lea muttered, feeling the heat on his face in embarrassment. Then he decided to be honest and replied, awkwardly. "Yeah. Back when me and Isa got turned into Heartless and Nobodies, don't think I've ever been so scared in my life, before I lost my heart."

He sighed. "But being threatened by Xehanort isn't what really scared me the most. Oh, I was terrified beyond belief when he got to me. But...it was when Isa pushed me out of the way, and became the first out of two of us to, well, you know."

"Axel..." Kairi whispered, stunned and horrified to hear what Lea had to go through. She was aware that he and Isa had been friends before things had gotten really bad. But what Xehanort had done was just downright awful.

"I couldn't believe he'd done for me. And...how he disappeared like that before I soon followed..." Lea continued, struggling to hold himself together as he recalled the horrible memories of that day. "It's all my fault. I lost him because I didn't move in time."

Looking away as the guilt he felt and tried to hold in began to surface, Lea struggled not to cry. "I lost Isa, and I lost Roxas, and forgot and lost...lost her, because of me being stupid. I hate myself for everything I did that hurt everyone. Even you and Sora."

The redhead sighed, forcing himself to calm down. "I tried to protect Roxas 'cause I knew what the Organization would do if he left. But I did the wrong way, and he still left."

"Don't give up, Axel." Kairi told him, her heart aching at how much Lea was struggling. When he turned to face her in a bit of shock, she continued firmly. "You'll still have a chance to save them. I know you do."

Even though he was admittedly uncertain if he could, Lea then remembered what happened back in the Hundred Acre Wood, and how Sora eventually found Kairi and Riku, then realized that he'd been given another chance to set things right, to find and save his friends and bring them home, to fully remember the black-haired girl. Kairi was right; he shouldn't give up.

"I won't. I'm gonna get them back. Not sure how, but, I'm gonna do it." He replied, which made her beam a little. "So, let's go find Snow White and see if she's okay."

"Yeah." Kairi nodded, then she and her friend turned to the entrance of the forest, and while it was spooky, they both ventured through in hopes of finding and saving the missing Princess.

Though neither of them were aware of what was yet to come.

* * *

**A/N: As promised, Kairi and Lea's next adventure has began in the illusionary Dwarf Woodlands. The next chapter will be a bit more surprising, I think.**

**Until then, see you later!**


	41. Chapter 40: Fairest in the World

**Author's note: Thank you for your reviews and lovely support, but I wouldn't call myself good at this. I just happened to be on a roll and on a lucky break, considering that I'm focusing solely on this at the moment...until my next writer's block or when daily life calls for me which are also important. For now, I was lucky enough to keep writing, so, there you go.**

**Anyway, enough about me, let's continue onward!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 40: Fairest in the World.

Kairi and Lea ventured through the Dark Forest in their search for Snow White, defeating Heartless along the way. But the ominous dark trees that blocked out most of the sunlight not only made the area look like they'd stumbled into the Realm of Darkness, but also made the atmosphere quite eerie and dreadful. On top of that, they tried to navigate their way, but soon realized that this was worse than the illusion of scary things in the Hundred Acre Wood.

Kairi was becoming more and more unsettled, especially how the way how the dark, lifeless trees looked like as though they would come to life and snatch you if you looked and stared solely into their 'eyes'. She knew that it was just her mind trying to play tricks on her, but still...

"Uh...Didn't we come this way just a few minutes ago?" Lea asked, as he and his companion slowed to a stop. This area seems the same as the one they have just been through, including the large giant log with a hole in the ground leading to a river and to another part of the forest...which kind of looks like a monster waiting for it's victims to fall through it's mouth for a meal.

"I don't know. I don't even know where we are." Kairi admitted, sounding more nervous than she thought, and tried to hide it.

"Great...we're lost." The taller man groaned, facepalming himself. "This is worse than the thorn bush, without the annoying thorns part."

This wasn't good. If they can't find their way through the forest, how can they protect Snow White from the Heartless and whatever else could be hiding here? Kairi wondered if the Princess was alright. She certainly must be lost by now herself, all alone, confused and terrified. Plus if Kairi was having trouble trying not to let her mind play tricks on her with how scary the trees look, Snow White was probably thinking everything she's seeing is real and not realizing she was just seeing things.

"I hope Snow White is okay. She must be so scared by now." Kairi said, worriedly.

"Wouldn't blame her. This forest isn't exactly a good place to be." Lea admitted with a sigh, before he and Kairi jumped a little when they heard a loud scream that echoed the area and through the forest. But as they listened, they realized that was a girl's scream.

"It's Snow White!" Kairi exclaimed, recognizing the voice.

"Where is she, though?" Lea asked, trying to listen carefully to where the screaming was coming from.

Kairi listened hard, and then focused on trying to sense where Snow White is. Then she listened hard as she and Lea heard the screaming again, and pointed up ahead and informed him. The two Keyblade Wielders then quickly hurried up further into the woods to locate the Princess, fighting off more Heartless that attempted to stop them. By then Kairi found herself more worried about Snow White to which the trees didn't look as scary as before, making her realize that Lea was right about what he said earlier, and decided to focus on that.

It hadn't taken them long before they came to a small clearing, and there sitting on the ground crying was a trembling Snow White, obviously frightened by the spooky forest. Kairi and Lea both felt sorry for her, before the former decided to approach the Princess first.

"Are you okay?" Kairi asked, gently as she leaned forward a bit, with Lea standing behind her.

"I'm so afraid! It's much too dark and scary." Snow White cried, trembling. "All these horrible monsters tried to grab me! The trees, they wanted to eat me...!"

"It's okay. You were just seeing things." Kairi reassured her. "Everyone gets scared."

The teenage girl held out her hand to Snow White who looked up slowly, to see the very kind girl who offered her a warm smile, and the tall man, a little off-putting due to his black coat, offering his own friendly smile and a nod to assure that the Princess was not in anymore danger right now. Realizing that she was safe, she took Kairi's hand and was helped up to her feet.

"Oh, thank you." Snow White replied, calming down. "This forest is so scary when I'm alone, but I feel much better now."

"Yeah, it's no fun when you're by yourself. But you'll be alright. We're here to help." Lea said, and Kairi nodded.

"You have? Oh, that is so sweet of both of you." Snow White said gratefully, and while Kairi's smile widened, Lea's face turned a shade of pink as he looked away slightly, embarrassed. "Would you be kind and walk me through the forest? I'd feel so much better if you would."

"Of course we will." Kairi said.

"Oh, thank you." Snow White replied, then introduced herself. "I'm Snow White."

"My name's Kairi." Kairi responded.

"Name's Lea, but you can call me Axel. Got it memorized?" Lea added.

With introductions done with, Kairi and Lea then began to guide Snow White through the forest and despite that even they had no idea where to take her, as long as it was far from the castle and from the Evil Queen, the Princess should be safe...despite the Heartless still lingering around. Still, the two Keyblade Wielders protected her from the Heartless until they reached a larger clearing of the forest, where they spotted a small house.

"Oh, look! It's a cottage." Snow White exclaimed softly, as she and her two new friends then approached, and they were all surprised how it looked like it would fit small children. "Oh, it's adorable! Just like a doll's house."

"You're right. It's so cute." Kairi cooed in agreement.

"Well, it looks like a nice place to be. Wonder if anybody's here?" Lea remarked.

Kairi peered through the window to see if there was anyone, but blinked in confusion before saying. "It's dark inside."

The trio shared a glance before Snow White knocked a couple times. It went unanswered and she knocked again, but still no response. She looked at Kairi and Lea in confusion, shrugging a little. "Guess there's no one home."

Deciding to investigate, Snow White, Kairi and Lea carefully opened the door slowly, and peered inside. Though while the two girls had no trouble in bending a little to go through the door, poor Lea ended up hitting his forehead at the top of the door frame due to how low it was.

"Ow!" He grunted, grimacing only to be shushed by both Kairi and Snow White since neither of them wanted to get into trouble. The redhead shrugged apologetically, whispering. "Sorry."

'_Man, why did this place have to be so low?_' Lea grumbled mentally as he bend and crouched lower in order to fit through. Even though the cottage reminded him of the one Aurora, and the Three Good Faries lived in before returning to the castle, it was really small. Well, at least the roof and ceiling were still high enough without him hitting his head repeatedly.

Though even though the place was really cute, and they noticed seven chairs, which may be belonging to seven people-small people from the looks of it, the place was practically a mess. The table was covered in a lot of things, the fireplace was covered in dust, cobwebs all over the ceiling, and tons of dirty dishes in and around the sink. Even the broom was covered in cobwebs.

"Would you look at this mess?" Kairi said, a little disgusted at the untidiness. It reminded her of the mess on Pleasure Island in Pranksters Paradise.

"Whoa. Whoever lives here sure seem to be really lazy." Lea stated, a bit shocked himself. Okay, granted, as a teenager, he probably wasn't the neatest when it came to his room, but at least he still cleaned, and he liked his showers.

"It certainly is untidy." Snow White remarked, disapprovingly. "Why, they've never swept this room."

She then had an idea and suggested, "I know. We'll clean the house and surprise them. Then, maybe they'll let me stay."

"That's a good idea." Kairi approved, while Lea, even though he didn't like how messy it was in the house, mentally groaned at the idea of having to clean it all up. But he held back the urge to complain.

'_Well...looks like there's no getting out of it._' The redhead grumbled.

"Okay. Axel, would you mind washing the dishes? Kairi, you clean the fireplace, I'll use the broom, and we'll work together to tidy the room." Snow White requested.

"Sure." Kairi nodded, already reaching out for a cloth which thankfully wasn't dirty and went over to her cleaning duty. Snow White then began to sweep up the floor, while Lea, with a sigh, went over to begin his duty, taking off his gloves and rolling up his sleeves, cringing at the mess of the dishes.

"Why do _I_ always get stuck with the icky jobs?" Lea whispered to himself in exasperation while making sure the girls didn't hear him and began filling up the sink with the dishes and running the water with the hold fashioned tap. He then began scrubbing, rinsing and drying off the dishes and carefully piling them up.

Then again, this cleaning duty was no different to his earlier years, or his days as a Nobody whenever he wasn't on a mission. So he shouldn't complain, right? Once he was certain all of the dishes were done, Lea then carefully packed them away in the cupboards neatly after what felt like forever.

Kairi in the meantime dusted off the fireplace, silently humming to herself and then tossing the dust outside through the opened window and continued the process, even with a few sneezes. After that was done, she then carefully climbed up the stairs and began dusting away the cobwebs, with Snow White and Lea now both helping with dusting and tiding up the room before the teenage girl joined them.

But while the trio were busy with the cleaning duty, neither one of them were aware that not only the owners of the cottage would be home soon, but the dangers were really far from over.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a dark chamber within deep of the Castle, the evil Queen, with her black cape, approached a mirror with a mask face within as it was a Magic Mirror. She was holding a box with it's lock being shaped like a heart with a dagger stabbed into it.

"Magic Mirror on the Wall, who now is the Fairest one of all?" The Queen questioned, having sent her henchmen earlier to send Snow White out to the woods and kill her in order to be the only beautiful and fairest one of all in the entire land due to her dark jealously and appeared to have been successful.

"**Over the seven jeweled hills, beyond the seventh fall, in the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs, dwells Snow White, fairest one of all.**" The Magic Mirror answered.

"Snow White lies lifeless in the woods. The huntsman has brought me proof; her heart." The Queen, thinking that the Magic Mirror was wrong for once, told him and opened up the box to show off a heart.

"**Alas, my Queen, Snow White did not die. The heart is fake, thou has been told a lie.**" The Mirror informed her.

The Queen couldn't believe what she was hearing. So this was fake heart all along? She gazed at it in disgust and growled in realization, with darkness forming around her for a moment due to having it seep into her own heart. "A fake!? Then I have been tricked!"

"**Be warned, Majesty, the Princess is not alone. A maiden with a heart thy shines as bright as Snow White, dwells with a man, with a heart and a past he wishes to atone.**" Warned the Mirror, just as the Queen was about to storm out of the room, but stopped when he spoke these words.

"Who are these people?" The Queen demanded.

"**Thy are warriors with Keys enlarge in sight, destined to go forth in a fight.**"

Two people who are warriors? A girl with a heart that is like Snow White's? And a man who committed a crime but hopes to atone for his actions? This is more frustrating and troubling than the Queen thought. On top of that, they are with the Princess, which means it will be difficult to kill her if they are around.

"Then I must kill them as well." She sneered darkly, clutching her fist which shook in fury. It wasn't until she sensed an unfamiliar presence behind her from the door way and spun around, demanding the intruder. "Who goes there?"

The intruder wasn't who she expected, because while she didn't know the old woman who approached, in pink and purple, it was Madam Mim who over heard the entire conversation...and used her magic to make things more realistic with the Mirror as part of her own plan.

"Who are you, you ugly old hag?" The Queen rudely questioned.

"Now, there is no need to be so rude, my dear." Mim gently scolded, not minding in being called ugly or old. She could do whatever she wanted with her appearance. "I'm just a kindly helper who can use magic, same as you."

"Kindly? With magic? How dare you intrude my kingdom?"

"Now, now, now. Calm down. As I said, I'm a kindly helper, because I came here to help you handle the, shall we say, the little maggots who are with that infuriating Snow White."

That, as Mim had wanted, got the Queen's attention. "Speak."

Snickering, the older woman continued. "You see, that maiden and her friend who wants to redeem himself are thorns of my side. Always have been. What you would say if I take care of them and get them out of the way for you to handle Snow White? I would kill the Princess myself, but I need to make sure they are far away."

The Queen considered Mim's words, and while she would prefer someone to kill Snow White, it would seem that the old woman may be telling the truth, especially if the two warriors are more trouble than they are worth. They would have to be distracted in order for her to deal with Snow White herself, and if the witch before her is lying or not, she would do so. The Evil Queen will not make the same mistake twice.

"Very well. Do not fail me." The Queen finally replied.

"Of course, your royal radiance." Mim curtsied respectfully. "No one should be more fair than you."

This satisfied the Queen as she gave a very cruel grin. But even as the two evil women, one real and another simply an illusion began to discuss their plans to get rid of Snow White, Kairi and Lea, none of them were aware that even they were being spied on or that their conversation was overheard from the tunnel further down by Saix, who, having briefly returned with only enough time to be here, narrowed his eyes before vanishing into darkness.

* * *

It had taken Kairi, Lea, and Snow White close to an hour to clean up the house, but they did such a good job with it that the cottage was spotless, dustless and almost sparkly clean. By the time they were done, the sun was beginning to set. Snow White thanked them for everything, and both Kairi and Lea promised to check up on her now that she was safe and settled. So after a short goodbye, the two Keyblade Wielders left the house to keep an eye out on Heartless in case they returned.

"I hope Snow White will be safe here." Kairi spoke up as they both began their patrol around the area including the edge of the forest.

"You worried that something might happen?" Lea inquired.

"Not just that. I just...don't think we should be leaving her alone for long." The Princess of Heart admitted. She wasn't sure why, but Kairi felt a bad aura lurking in this world, and not just the Evil Queen or the Heartless, but something else. It was...like the one in the Hundred Acre Wood. "I don't want the same that happened to Aurora happen to Snow White."

That got the former Nobody's attention and it made him pause. He folded his arms in thought, almost having forgotten about what happened in the Enchanted Dominion, both in illusion and what Terra, Ventus and Aqua had been through. "Now that you mention it, we should probably stick close to her, huh?"

As he just spoken those words, Lea suddenly felt the familiar, painful jolt run through his mind. But when he felt it and quickly realized what it was and attempted to brace himself, this time, though, it was somehow much more painful than before. Softly gasping, the redhead automatically drew his hands to his head as he tried to will the pain to dull, but it was intense, making him lose focus on what was going on around him.

"Axel!? Are you okay?" Kairi cried out worriedly, as she saw this before running up to him, then realized that her friend is slowly passing out. She wasn't certain if it was more of Lea's memories returning and were painful ones, or that something horrible was happening.

"Wha...What's...happening...to me?" Lea breathed with difficulty. He tried to breathe in and out slowly, but the pain was making him feel dizzy and faint. He wasn't sure if it was his missing memories or something else was going on. Whatever it was, he was quickly losing the battle. In fact, his world was turning black, and he was vaguely aware of falling.

"AXEL!" Kairi screamed out in horror, and that was the last thing Lea heard before he lost consciousness...

* * *

_It had been a heavy battle, and Axel hated it. But he didn't have much of a choice. If it meant to bring the black-haired girl back, he'd take it. He didn't want to lose her, even if they both already lost Roxas. In the end, he won, and was now carrying his unconscious and bruised friend through the hallways, but utterly spent and exhausted, and feeling just as battered._

_"Why you gotta cause me so much trouble..." The redhead breathed, feeling dizzy and faint._

_Then, before he even knew it, the last of Axel's strength gave way and before he even knew it, he collapsed onto his knees and accidentally dropped the girl onto the floor before landing front himself, his world turning mostly black. Just as he was losing consciousness, Axel was vaguely aware of footsteps echoing the halls. Even in his weakened state, and his vision all blurry, the redhead saw an arm pick up the unconscious girl as though she was nothing but a clothed puppet, then began to walk away._

_To his horror, it was a familiar silver hair, and Axel knew who it was._

_'_No...D-Don't...Xemnas...! G-give her back...Xi..._' Axel pleaded in his mind, helpless as he could only watch Xemnas walk away with his friend, knowing what would happen, and he couldn't do a thing to stop the Superior..._

_Because by then, Axel passed out..._

* * *

"XION!" Lea screamed as he jolted upright, panting rapidly as though he'd awoken from a terrible, a bit disoriented and his heart beating too quickly in his chest. He wasn't even aware that he'd been lying on the ground, his eyes stinging a bit in the moisture of tears. Next to him by his right was Kairi who had jumped slightly, startled by his outburst.

"Axel?" Kairi asked softly.

Her voice seemed to bring him out of his confused and panicked state, because Lea turned to her and even though he realized that he recalled another memory, a very painful one, the rest of his memories came back to him to before he lost...her.

"Kairi?" The redhead breathed, his heart's beating slowing down to it's normal beat. "W-what happened?"

"You were hurting. Almost like something was in your mind, and then you passed out. Do you remember?" The Princess of Heart explained.

Lea frowned, more than a little uncomfortable with what just happened. He remembered talking to Kairi about Snow White, and then the pain. But he didn't remembering losing consciousness.

"Not really." He admitted, looking away slightly. "I mean, I remember my head hurting like somebody was stabbing me in the brain with an electric sword or somethin'. But I don't remember passing out. Then...one of memories of her...came back to me."

"The girl you can't remember?" Kairi asked, gently. If Lea was still regaining his memories about his forgotten friend, then it was a good sign. She thought she heard him scream her name, but she'd been so focused on him awaking up that his outburst scared her a bit, not for herself, but for her friend's well being.

"Yeah. Except..." Lea trailed off, thinking about what he saw. Even though he had no idea what had become of her, a horrible realization dawned onto him. "...We got into a fight, and I think I was ordered to bring her back. I still don't know what or why, though. I ended up winning, but we were both exhausted."

Even though anger started to form because of he knew now who was responsible for her disappearance, but a sudden chill of horrified though and possibility also came with it and the guilt he felt earlier when he first began to remember the black-haired girl's face grew stronger, and...the complete loss came with it.

'_No...that means she's..._' Lea thought, devastation forming as he continued. "Before I passed out from my injuries...I saw Xemnas...and he...he took her away."

"You don't mean...?" Kairi trailed off, not wanting to finish the line of thought.

He didn't want to believe it either, but right now, Lea couldn't think of another logical conclusion of his friend's fate. Worse, he helped Xemnas by bringing her back...only for her to mostly be destroyed.

"...She's gone...Xemnas...he probably destroyed her, and maybe that's why I forgot. Not s-sure how he did it without Namine but...maybe he took away my memories of her, but couldn't do the same with Roxas." Lea stuttered, tears unconsciously falling again.

Lea then sighed shakily, trying hard not to cry but couldn't hold back the guilt. "It's all my fault...! How could I have been so stupid?"

Even worse, why was he remembering a friend if he was never going to see her again? What was the use of his memories of her if she...if she is dead?

"Axel..." Kairi whispered, sorrow and sympathy flowed as her heart broke to see like remember what had happened to one of his best friends. Yes, he had done bad things as a Nobody, but the redhead was trying to atone, and all he wanted was to get his friends back. She knew what it was like. Riku had gone through the similar situation, while Sora searched far and wide for him and Kairi herself. But for Lea to not only lose Roxas who was forced to return to where he came from, but also lose the black-haired girl by Xemnas...it was just too cruel.

It wasn't fair. Why did Xehanort have to do such horrible things to people? Why did that cruel man take pleasure in ruining everyone's lives and taking them away? Why did he want to destroy the Realm of Light and kill everyone? He was a monster, and he hurt everyone, even those who didn't have cruel fates but felt as though they were responsible for what happened to their friends; Terra, Ventus, Aqua, Kairi herself, King Mickey, Lea, Isa, Roxas, the black-haired girl, Namine, Sora, Riku...everyone.

She then thought of something and maybe the black-haired girl wasn't dead. Her eyes widened as another thought came into mind.

"Maybe she's not gone." Kairi tried to suggest.

"Huh?" The redhead turned to the teenage girl who, realizing he'd been unconsciously shedding tears again and felt even more embarrassed now that she watched him almost fall apart, held tears in her eyes. For that moment, he'd thought she'd be angry and disgusted with him for what he did to his own friends. But she wasn't. If anything, Kairi looked as though...she really felt sorry for him.

"Maybe Xehanort is using her as one of his vessels, and Sora has to save her. Because she's connected to him. Like you, Roxas, Namine, Terra, Ventus, and Aqua." She continued, not willing to give up hope for the black-haired girl.

Even though he doubted it was true, Lea couldn't help but feel like that may be a possibility. There was still something missing about this, even though Kairi might be right. Maybe his friend had been taken and Xemnas decided to keep her hidden just in case...just in case something happened to the Organization. Still, while he didn't want to get his hopes up, Kairi's beliefs in her own theory was a bit more comforting, and maybe, just maybe, that she could very well be right.

And if there was anyone who can help in bringing her back, it was Sora.

"...Hope you're right." Lea finally replied, wiping away his tears as he forced himself to calm down, sniffling a bit. "Sorry. Think I kind of over-reacted a little."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of to cry when you lose your friends or family, or both." Kairi reassured him, shaking her head, smiling a little in relief, then giggled. "Though, you boys can be stubborn when it comes to your ego sometimes."

"Hey!" Lea pouted a little, then chuckled which made Kairi giggle along with him. He couldn't really deny what she said, and her reassurance was comforting. He just hoped nothing bad happened to her and she also hoped that she was right. As much as he hated to admit it, but he'd always been a bit of a cry baby. Maybe he was still getting used to having his heart back.

Other than Isa, Lea didn't tell anyone the main reason why he had those marks under his eyes. Though in retrospect, he didn't think they'd actually helped to begin with. In fact, those had been his former best friend's idea, and he believed him for a while. Lea knew though he'd have to be more careful from now on.

"Thanks." He finally replied, smiling a little. Then the redhead requested sheepishly, not wanting to admit that he tended to break down. "But, uh, could you do me a favor and not tell anybody about this? Got a reputation and all."

"Promise." Kairi replied with a nod.

Lea nodded gratefully, only for him and Kairi to quickly sense a presence and both turned into the same direction as they also detected darkness. The taller redhead softly gasped while demanding, "Who's there?"

The person they sensed was a bit far from where they were, but they caught glimpse of pink and purple who, realizing they had been spotted, quickly ran into the forest. Both Kairi and Lea's eyes widened as they instantly remembered the very same figure; the same woman from the Hundred Acre Wood, which could only mean one thing. She was following them. For what reason and whether or not Saix was telling the truth, neither of them knew.

"Hey!" Lea yelled, and ignoring the dizzy spells and despite Kairi's worried expression, gave chase with his companion close behind. Whoever it was, they knew that old woman meant trouble.

The two Keyblade Wielders raced back into the Dark Forest while hoping they wouldn't be gone for too long as they were still worried about Snow White despite her being in a safe place. The fought their way through the Heartless to try and find the old woman and figure out what was she doing here. But soon they found themselves having lost track of her and came to a stop in the same clearing where they first found the Princess lost and alone.

"Where'd she run off to?" Lea grunted as he and Kairi looked for any signs of the person, but couldn't see her anywhere.

Just then Kairi sensed more darkness and gasped, exclaiming. "Look out!"

At her warning, the two quickly jumped back as a large Heartless materialized; it was a cross of being a giant Evil Enchanted Tree with six roots that acted like legs which made the bottom of the monster like a Scorpion or something. It also had large claw-like hands that looked really dangerous, a cage like jaw that could easily swallow someone whole and the leaves on it's head looked dark and razor sharp. It's eyes resembled to glaring yellow eyes from scary stories.

Kairi and Lea grunted before they both summoned their Keyblades to fight this thing. The Heartless Tree roared before it attempted to make the first attack by stomping towards them. But the two redheads were ready as Kairi shot out a Firaga at it's eyes while Lea sent out a wave of Flames at it's arms and legs, forcing the Heartless back as it roared in pain, slowly burned but not yet weakened. They didn't waste any time and quickly slashed and thrust at it while they had the chance to do so. They then jumped back on both sides when it tried to slash them with it's arms, though it's roar sent them back before it then materialized sharp and thick giant thorns and sent them flying everywhere.

Kairi focused on trying to use Reflect and though it wasn't as strong as she would've liked, at least it protected her from one of the giant thorns as it bounced off. However, she had to run to avoid the others as the Heartless kept on sending out more which was making things difficult. The Princess of Heart tried another Firaga, but had to stop herself before she ended up being hit and focused on dodging the attacks for the time being. She noticed that Lea was having the same problem, even as he turned his Keyblade into his Chakrams, but at least he managed to slice a couple of thorns in half.

"Take this!" Kairi yelled at the Heartless as soon as it stopped it's attack, while she leaped up and slashed at it's right arm before whacking it's side with her Keyblade. While the Heartless was distracted by the Princess of Heart who leaped back before it had the chance to swipe at her, it didn't even see what Lea was doing until it was too late.

"Burn, baby!" Lea exclaimed, flaring up his Keyblade in flames before tossing it in the same manner as his old weapons, the weapon slashing and burning through the Heartless who roared in more agony while he caught his weapon expertly when it returned to him.

But then the Heartless then spiked up it's leaves and sent them out flying all over the place, making things even more difficult for Kairi and Lea to dodge than it thorns did that even setting them up in flames was hard to do. Though Kairi was hit and she screamed when it stung and cut her a few times on her arms and legs and face before she used Cure on herself, while Lea ended up with the same problem even as he used his Keyblade and arms to try and shield himself.

"Ow, ow!" He grunted, before growling as he and Kairi were then forced to use other trees to protect themselves which thankfully worked as the sharp razor leaves didn't do much effect on the normal bark. "Geez, this guy is the worst tree ever."

Normally, Kairi would've laughed. But in this situation it was serious. They needed to find the Heartless' weakness and fast. Unfortunately, the Heartless surprised them when not even a moment after it finished it's attack, it stretched out it's arms and grabbed both Kairi and Lea from behind their hiding spots, pulling them and held them up high in the air after they cried out in alarm. While Kairi at least had her arms free, she struggled to pull herself out of the grasp. Lea on the other hand had his arms pinned to his sides and grunted while trying to squirm his way out, but it was futile.

"Let us go!" Kairi demanded, trying not to panic and continued to wriggle and squirm. She had to do something to save both herself and Lea, or else the Heartless will kill them, even if it was just an illusion. This couldn't end here. Not now! As she then saw that the Heartless was about to draw her towards it's mouth and she let out a soft gasp in horror, a crazy idea formed in her mind. Maybe if she could use a Fire Spell in the inside, it might work.

As Lea hissed in pain while he was being tightly squeezed, he glared up at the Heartless only to gasp in horror when he saw that it was about to engulf Kairi first while she continued to try and pull herself free.

"Kairi, no!" He screamed out. He couldn't lose her too! Not when he lost so much already, and Lea still wanted to make up for having used her to try and force Sora to turn into a Heartless to bring back Roxas. Not when Kairi had just become his friend!

Just as she was about to be shoved into the wooden mouth, Kairi re-summoned her Keyblade and aimed it towards the gob, and despite her magic running low, she knew she didn't have much of a choice. "FIRAGA!"

The magical flames, not as strong as Lea's, flew into the Heartless's mouth and did such heavy damage that it roared in much more agony than it did when the battle began. So much so that it was forced to lose it's grip on Kairi and Lea who both fell, but landed safely on the ground, and breathed heavily in both exhaustion and close call. The two shared a glance for a moment before Kairi used the last of her magic to use Cure on herself and Lea, before they quickly fought and attacked the Heartless while it was still reeling from Kairi's Firaga until finally with a final slash, it crashed onto it's back with a large thud and then vanished without a trace.

Once they were certain that it was gone, they wasted no more time in jugging down their magically renewable Elixirs before Lea walked over to Kairi, asking worriedly. "You okay?"

"Yeah. What about you?" Kairi replied.

"I'm fine. You scared me for a moment there. I thought that Heartless was gonna eat you." The taller redhead said, sighing.

"I was scared, too. I guess I tried to stay calm and think, and then I thought about using the Fire Spell on the inside and hoped that it would work." Kairi admitted, amazed that she managed to pull that off. She wasn't sure if it was like how she freed herself from Saix in desperation or if she stayed calm and waited until the time was right.

"Yeah, well, you saved the both of us." Lea pointed out, smiling a little which surprised her. "That's two I owe you now."

"Actually, I think we're already even." Kairi corrected, smiling back.

"Huh?"

"You saved me from Maleficent and the Heartless in the Skull Cave."

Realizing that she has a point, the taller man nodded. Just then, everything around them froze before vanishing in darkness, before it was replaced by a static of what appeared to be a dark room with an unfamiliar woman and a magic Mirror. What they also noticed was Terra who was hiding around the corner of the door way.

"Again?" Lea groaned, wondering why it was happening now.

"Terra's here...but that would mean..." Kairi trailed off, realizing that this world was another one that Terra, and most likely Ventus and Aqua had come to.

"_A mirror that knows and sees everything... How about that._" Terra muttered to himself, which surprised and shocked both Kairi and Lea as they shared a glance, before turning back to the woman and the mirror who, according to the missing Keyblade Wielder, knew and can see everything.

"_**The heart of Snow White doth shine bright. Beware, my Queen, a heart of light.**_" The Mirror was saying to the woman, who is identified as the Queen.

"Queen...and Snow White?" Kairi muttered, then gasped in horror as she and Lea realized what this means. "This must be Snow White's evil stepmother!"

"So if the Mirror knows everything, then that means...Uh oh...!" Lea muttered worriedly, his eyes widening when another realization hit him and the Princess of Heart.

Before they could hear Terra speak again or even be seen by the Evil Queen, the image quickly changed and while both Terra and everything else vanished, it then revealed the same meadow the two Keyblade Wielders had been in earlier, and saw that Terra was speaking to Snow White, and both Kairi and Lea then realized, remembering what the real Maleficent had made him do, the evil Queen had sent him since the Huntsman they met doesn't exist in the Realm of Light.

"_Does the name Xehanort mean anything to you?_" Terra asked carefully.

Snow White seemed to be in thought, before she shook her head, and replied. "_Why...why, no. I don't think I've ever heard that name._"

Before Terra, or even Kairi and Lea could even speak, unfamiliar monsters suddenly appeared around Snow White, making Terra summon his Keyblade while the Princess, frightened by the sight of the creatures, blindlessly ran into the woods.

"_Hey, wait! Don't go in there alone!_" Terra cried out, giving chase only to be blocked off by the monsters.

"What are those things?" Kairi asked, at the sight of the monsters. While she was certain she'd never seen them before, for a mysterious reason, they looked as though they were familiar, but obviously not friendly.

"Weird...I think I've seen these guys before." Lea muttered thoughtfully with a concerned frown. Why were these monsters familiar to him? Radiant Garden, maybe? Had they been a threat before the Heartless?

Then, the memory shifted again and this time they and Terra were all back in the Queen's Chamber, where the evil ruler herself and the Mirror still remained and the Queen wasn't even happy. Kairi and Lea only glared at her for her cruel, selfish ways and Terra didn't look anymore impressed.

"_I ordered you to bring me Snow White's heart!_" The Queen growled angrily.

"_A request I chose to ignore._" Terra responded, glaring hard at the evil woman. "_You know, you claim to be radiant, but all I see are shadows of jealousy, hanging thick on your heart._"

At once, the memory shifted again, this time apparently Terra having to fight from within the Magic Mirror the Queen somehow placed him into, because there was a flash of light and he reappeared, much to her shock and the surprise of Kairi and Lea before sharing another glance.

"_How did you escape?_" The Queen demanded.

Instead of answering, Terra turned around and approached but stopped halfway, saying as he demanded his own request. "_Now, you will ask the mirror. Where can I find Master Xehanort?_"

Realizing she had no other choice and had no way of getting rid of him unless he got what he wanted, the Queen growled in frustration before she spun to face the Mirror once more and ordered him. "_Magic Mirror, instruct this knave! Give him the answers he doth crave._"

"_**Beyond both light and dark he dwells, where war was waged upon the fells.**_" Said the Mirror.

Not a moment too soon after the Mirror informed Terra of this, everything around Kairi and Lea wavered again and in the blinding light which they had to shield heir eyes, they soon found themselves back in the Dark Forest and time returned once more.

"Whoa. He even knows where Xehanort was?" Lea asked, shocked. He didn't think that the Mirror would even know about other worlds. That was just...wow.

"Beyond both light and dark, where war waged?" Kairi repeated in concern, asking, more to herself than her friend. "Could he be talking about the Keyblade War?"

Lea crossed his arms at the question and thought deeply, before replying. "Wouldn't be surprised. Xehanort did like to sneak around in places that not everyone can find."

"But if the Mirror knew about that..." Kairi began, then gasped in realization. "Then that means she'll find out that Snow White is still alive!"

"Yeah, and we were helping to protect her." Lea added, worriedly. This was bad, and although this world was an illusion like the previous three they'd been in, it was still considered real none the less and that meant only one thing. "Let's head back."

The teenage girl nodded, but just before they were about to head back to the cottage where Snow White was, they tensed when they heard an unfamiliar, cackling old woman's voice speak behind them. "Now where do you two think you are skittering off to?"

Sensing the same presence they were trying to follow, Kairi and Lea both spun around and saw the woman they'd been trying to find, now getting a good look at her and at the moment unaware that it was Madam Mim, who stood there with an annoyed look with her arms folded. None the less, they both sensed darkness within her and knew that it was the same person they saw earlier and now clearly from another world; from the Realm of Light.

"Who are you?" Kairi asked, tensed.

"Now, my dear, don't tell me you've never heard of the marvellous Madam Mim?" Mim responded evilly, smirking.

"No." The Princess of Heart replied. She didn't like this Madam Mim already.

"Might not have heard of you, lady, but I can already tell that you're nothin' but bad news." Lea said, defensively as he stood in a fighting stance.

That only delighted Mim as she laughed, "Thank you, my boy. I love it when people say bad things about me, because I am the magnificent, marvellous, mad Madam Mim."

"Are you the who caused the illusions in the Hundred Acre Wood?" Kairi questioned as she stood next to Lea, also getting ready to fight just in case.

"Well, now, aren't you very smart?" Mim cackled, amused. "It's funny how this realm really works, now isn't it? An illusion within an illusion. Who would have thought? But really, I think it's time to teach you two a valuable lesson."

"Whaddya mean?" Lea demanded. Why was this old hag on their case? Was it the Organization sending her to get to Kairi?

"You'll see...now, go and play along in your Mirror of Maze!" Mim cackled evilly, and with a flick of her finger while the two Keyblade Wielders stood ready, a mirror suddenly materialized behind them.

"What!?" Kairi and Lea both turned just in time to see the mirror that appeared out of nowhere glow and then suddenly their reflections turned dark and came to life before each of them grabbed hold of the both of them.

Lea tried to pull Kairi out of the way, but was instead pulled into the mirror first while his friend were dragged in shortly after as they screamed in alarm. Both disappeared into the glass which then returned to normal, only showing the satisfied Mim's reflection.

"That will keep those two out of the way and do those men in the black coats a big favor." The old witch smirked, before using her magic to teleport away and not even bothering in making the mirror vanish.

Which is her big mistake, because hiding from behind another tree and having arrived just in time to see this, was Saix who narrowed his eyes angrily when he saw what just happened. At the same time, though, he was still on a time limit himself. Sighing in frustration, the blue haired man walked over to the mirror and gazed at it, before slowly touching the glass and found that it rippled and felt like thick paint.

"This has become more difficult than I thought. Master Xehanort will not be pleased if Kairi perishes before he can forge the X-Blade, or if the both the Seven New Lights and the guardians of light fail to assemble all at once." Saix said to himself.

Knowing what to do, he pushed his through the glass and allowed himself to be pulled through, though not as forceful as his former friend and the Princess of Heart, and made a short journey into the Mirror Realm within the Timeless Realm.

Where both Kairi and Lea would be facing more problems and delayed their return to Snow White.

* * *

**A/N: The test is not over yet, and Mim will still be making several more appearances before Merlin can help Kairi and Lea as they both still have to finish the illusionary Dwarf Woodlands and then three more adventures to go through. Though the next chapter will be the last of this world before we return to Sora, Donald and Goofy in another familiar Disney World.**

**See you later!**


	42. Chapter 41: Reflecting Emotions

**Author's note: Sorry for the bit of delay. Had family come over and spent time with them while things just went crazy yet again. But at least I finally got the chance to return to this story and I've been edging to return to a couple of my other stories despite that my goal is to try and at least finish off all of the visiting worlds and reach the Key to Return Hearts before the end of the year and before the release of KH3: ReMind(which I still think it'll be late next year due to FFVII Remake: Part 1 coming out in March).**

**Anyway, here's a new chapter and I think it will conclude the Dwarf Woodlands illusionary story arc.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 41: Reflecting Emotions.

It felt like forever since Mim had created a mirror that trapped them and pulled them through, but it couldn't have been anymore than a few minutes at least, because Lea and Kairi emerged through another mirror and landed hard on a stone floor. Well, Lea landed hard on his back while Kairi landed on top of him. The two of them breathed had while trying to catch their breath, before the teenage girl stood up and apologetically helped the man to stand up.

The two of them then glanced around to see that they were no longer in the Dark Forest. In fact, they weren't even outside. Instead, they stood in a distorted chamber with a mirror which stood alone. The rest of the chamber looked like to be floating in a space of mirror shards all around them, with a path leading to another chamber, and two other mirrors in two alters, firmly placed within the perimeter of the runes. Many spiral-shaped columns and the altars containing runes on their walls populate the room.

"Are we...inside the Mirror?" Kairi asked, hesitantly. There was something oddly familiar about this place, but she couldn't place her finger on it. It had a dark eerie feeling to it, and if one wasn't careful, bad things could happen here.

"Sure looks like it." Lea replied, placing his hands on his hips as he gazed around their new surroundings. "Though I thought it would be like a reversed version of the woods or somethin'. Not this...creepy place."

"You mean like a mirror image?"

"Well, yeah. Ya' know, kind of like the illusion worlds you and me are goin' through, only...Uh...alternate, I guess?"

Neither one had the chance to continue the conversation, because first they sensed and heard a dark presence behind them, along with glass shattering and someone making a grunting noise. But as the two Keyblade Wielders spun around, they only caught glimpse of particles of darkness fading away before the mirror they came through broke in half and then to their shock flew over their heads before the two separate pieces flew right into the two mirrors. Kairi and Lea stood there, shocked before gazing at the now broken mirror.

"...There goes our exit." Lea gulped, somewhat nervously. Just great. How were they going to get out of here if their main entrance was shattered and leaving them both trapped in the mirror world? Was Mim really keeping them here for Xehanort to capture Kairi and kill Lea himself? Maybe now would be a good time to call Merlin for help, because the redhead had no idea how to-

Wait a second...

"What do we do?" Kairi asked.

Lea thought hard as he gazed at the broken mirror and then back to the other two mirrors in the room where the two broken shards had flown into. Maybe if they can find those pieces, that should restore the mirror and have them escape this place before the Organization would get to them. At least that's what he hoped.

"I have an idea." He finally replied after a moment or two. "Those mirrors."

"Huh?"

"If those mirror shards managed to get through to them, then maybe if we go through ourselves..."

Kairi's eyes lit up as she suddenly realized what Lea had in mind. "We can find those shards and they'll return to the mirror we came from!"

"And if we're lucky, that's our ticket outta here." Lea nodded, impressed that the teenage girl had already caught on. He then cautioned, "Though I don't think splitting up is a good idea. Who knows what we're gonna be facing, so we'd better be careful. Got it memorized?"

"Yeah. Actually, now that I think of it, I've seen a place similar to this one in a dream." Kairi replied, which surprised her taller friend.

"When was this?"

"It was in that cave, before I had to fight that Heartless while trying to find Pooh. I saw Aqua; in the Realm of Darkness. She was traversing through worlds that got swallowed up before Sora and the others defeated Xehanort's Heartless. Dwarf Woodlands was one of them. She was being drawn into a mirror world like we did." She explained, realizing now why this place looked oddly familiar. It was indeed similar to what Aqua must've have gone through, like she saw in her dream.

Lea folded his arms as he absorbed this in his mind. So Aqua had to go through the same thing he and Kairi were currently in? Which meant that if she managed to somehow get out, then there was a chance they can too. That, at least, was a bit promising. Question was, what kind of threats other than the Heartless would they be facing here? Either way, as he had said, splitting up wasn't such a good idea.

Finally he shrugged. "Well, guess we're doin' the same thing that she did."

Kairi nodded, before she and Lea stepped towards the runes and after a little bit of debating, decided to investigate the mirror to their left. But as they approached it and slowly made to touch it as they noticed a world on the other side, the glass suddenly came to life which alarmed them. First it shot out as though forming into a fist and punched Lea in the chest, sending the alarmed man flying as he screamed while being flown right into the mirror on the other side, much to Kairi's horror.

"Axel!" Kairi cried out, about to race over to the mirror. But the mirror she and Lea were about to enter then grabbed her by the arm and held her in it's place and attempting to pull her in. She struggled to free herself while exclaiming, "Let go of me!"

The mirror refused to listen, and as though having a will of it's own, it pulled her right through as she screamed. It was a short trip as Kairi stumbled while having been freed. Though as she tried to catch her breath, she looked around and saw that she was now in a castle hallway, but out of sorts and twisted up and down with seemingly endless staircases. While taking a moment to observe her surroundings, the Princess of Heart gasped as she remembered Lea, but when she turned, the mirror she entered was gone. All that was there was a stone wall.

She was trapped.

"_You must face your fears, alone._"

Gasping as she heard an unfamiliar female voice behind her, Kairi spun around quickly to see who it was, but saw no one. The teenage girl looked around carefully, but still there wasn't anybody around. Had it been her imagination? Why did the voice sound familiar? From her dreams, maybe? What did this mean?

Realizing that she had nowhere else to go but forward, Kairi sighed. "I guess...I'll have to find the first piece by myself."

With that in mind and hoping that she wouldn't fall into another trap, Kairi nervously but steeling herself began to make her way through the twisted hallway and staircases in hopes of finding the Mirror Shard and reunite with Lea while hoping that he is alright.

* * *

"Ow!" Lea grunted as he landed hard on the ground for the second time in less than an hour. His head spun a little from the unexpected punch before he sat up and regained his senses, before he gasped as the mirror he'd been thrown into vanished. He quickly stood up, but it was too late.

"Kairi!" He cried out, realizing that his friend was now on her own...again. The redhead mentally hit himself for not being careful enough. Must have been another one of Mim's tricks in order to capture Kairi for the Organization, or something.

Great.

"Fine. I'll have to look for the other piece and then find her." Lea groaned, while hoping that Kairi would be okay. He wouldn't forgive himself if she got caught despite that it was obvious that Mim wanted them to split up and die here, or Kairi to be captured and Lea himself to perish in this place.

Knowing that he was on his own, the redhead turned and finally noticed his surroundings. It looked like a courtyard outside of a castle but strangely inside a diamond mine with platforms and dangerously narrow log bridges in each one. This was going to be a little tricky. None the less, he didn't have much of a choice, so he ventured off down the twisted mine which was just a little bit claustrophobic, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. Right?

_"Don't hold back, Axel. Promise?"_

Lea stiffened, tensed as he placed a hand to his head, wincing as he felt it ache. That voice...it was...it was her. The very same words that were similar to what Kairi requested just hours after they both successfully summoned their Keyblades properly. Back when they...his eyes widened as he remembered the painful memory of losing her to Xemnas, the one that made him lose consciousness.

"Xi..." He trailed off, realizing that despite what he exclaimed earlier upon waking up from the memory like a nightmare, he once again forgotten her name. What was it? He had at the tip of his tongue. But now...Now it fled as though he hadn't thought about it in the first place. Lea tried to say her name again, but all he managed was the X and the I. Ugh, come on. What was her name?

"_You're not gonna remember her name by forcing it._"

"What?" Lea gapped, looking around for the source of the voice. It wasn't the girl's voice from before, and not from his memory either. It sounded...much too familiar, like uncomfortably like his own familiar. He couldn't see anyone. The place is empty.

"_Do you really think you're capable of remembering someone who you ended up losing? Just like your other friends? Just face it. You've driven them away, because of your selfish desires. You can't let go of who you really are. It will always be part of you._"

"Look, whoever are, quit the ghost-voice act and show yourself!" Lea demanded, only to be confronted by Heartless that suddenly appeared in front of him. Growling in frustration, he summoned the Flame Liberator Keyblade while adding. "And you get out of my way!"

The redhead wasted no time to handle the Heartless with the combination of his Keyblade and his Chakrams before deciding to hurry in finding the mirror shard in order to find Kairi and hoped that nothing bad happened to her. The redhead slashed through another Heartless that appeared in front of him, slicing it cleanly in half and destroying it instantly before reaching the end of the first platform. He then carefully crossed the log bridge and sighed in relief when he made it and it collapsed behind him.

As he was about to cross another bridge, Lea tensed when he heard more voices...more memories, one that was forever etched in his mind.

* * *

_"Your mind's made up?"_

_"Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know."_

_"You can't turn on the Organization! You get on their bad side, and they'll destroy you!"_

_"No one would miss me."_

_"That's not true. I would."_

* * *

Lea paused, his heart aching over those memories. It was something he wouldn't forget. How could he? He can't just pretend it never happened, but at the same time, he didn't want it to be the main part of him. The guilt that made him feel like a failure to his friends. Even though Axel didn't have a heart, he still felt...hurt. What he said to Roxas was the truth. He would miss Roxas. He did miss Roxas. Lea recalled, as Axel, the last time they ever saw each other again, after Roxas had not only been captured by Riku and Diz to have his memories messed up in order to force the poor kid to return to Sora, but had defeated Axel.

* * *

_Axel knew he had lost, and that meant not only he would now never see Roxas again, but now...now the Organization would really turn on him for this failure. But then...nothing was left for him there anymore. The remains of Isa had been swallowed up by the darkness that was Saix. Xemnas never cared. Everyone else was just either just as careless, or in Demyx's case, just utterly useless._

_"Axel..." Roxas muttered, his anger calmed, as his memories of their last departure returned to him. He remembered everything, and given how the redhead, his former but real best friend, through a series of lies and in many ways, still cared. He even remembered Axel's last words to him before being imprisoned here in the fake Twilight Town._

_"Let's meet again, in the next life." Axel suggested, panting. Oh, he wasn't dying. But knowing that if he tried his luck to continue the fight, he was finished. But then...at that last moment, both of them held back from destroying each other. He found that he just...couldn't. Sure he handled it with Vexen and Zexion, and let Sora handle Larxene and Marluxia. But...he didn't want to do that to Roxas._

_No matter how things have changed, Roxas is still his best friend._

_"Yeah. I'll be waiting." Roxas replied, softly._

_Well...at least this was enough to say that they reconciled. The wrong place and time, but...Axel's would take what he was given. "Silly...Just because you have the next life."_

* * *

He hadn't known that he would be given a second chance, even if it meant by the destruction of himself and his mind-less zombie-after-hearts-and-not-brains Heartless, but then again Lea had always known that Xemnas was a big, fat liar. Wanting nothing more than to turn all of the Organization members into vessels.

But that didn't mean to say that Axel hadn't lied. Lea knew that he was an expert when it came to that and the only one who ever truly knew it was Isa, like back when they were kids. He wouldn't be surprised that the ability to read through those lies hadn't faded from Saix. Then again...what did cause Roxas to question himself?

'_Was it because she was questioning her existence?_' Lea thought to himself, thoughtfully. He knew now that the three of them-Roxas, the girl and himself-were very close. Somehow it made sense and it...made him feel even more guilty. Maybe, when she figured out the truth, she ran away and Axel had been ordered to find and destroy her, but he couldn't. And he hadn't told Roxas-

"Wait a sec..." Lea muttered. Something was horribly familiar when he thought of this. He...didn't tell Roxas about her? About who she was? Was that...the actual reason why their friendship fell apart?

Remembering what he was supposed to do, Lea shook his head and quickly continued onward towards his current mission. Despite that he was desperate to remember everything about the black-haired girl, right now he had to focus. First get the mirror shard, get out of this mirror-land and then find Kairi...Before Mim or Saix or anyone else in the Organization did.

After what felt like forever in fighting the Heartless and through the crazy path and having nearly fallen off the log, the redhead finally reached the end of the tunnel in a large diamond mine chamber, and lo and behold, found the mirror shard that simply floated there. Well, that was easy. Now all that's left is to return it to the main mirror and find Kairi.

"_Still think you can play hero, do ya?_"

That voice again...Lea spun around and found himself staring...at himself. Or, rather as he realized due to being stuck inside a mirror dimension, a mirror living image of himself. Sure the guy in front of him was his height, build, wearing the black coat, same red hair and everything. But as he squinted his eyes more carefully, he saw a noticable difference with this duplicant; the marks under the eyes.

"You're Axel." Lea grunted, tensing.

'Axel' smirked in amusement. "_Bingo! You just got yourself a gold star. Except, it's not the same like with Roxas and Sora, or Namine and Kairi. But what I am is a dark shadow of your past, which you can't get away from._"

"Uh, huh." Lea murmured skeptically, folding his arms to his chest as he didn't trust this guy. "Are you trying to convince me that you're a real version of me or something? 'Cause it ain't working. You're just a mirror copy of me in this stupid place."

"_So you managed to catch on?_" 'Axel' laughed, casually walking beside and around Lea who turned to keep an eye on the fake him, not intending to trust the duplicant. "_Yeah, I'm just a mirror image, alright. But what I'm also a mirror image of is your darkness; formed into a life of it's own. I'm the guy who did all the icky jobs for Xemnas, the cruel assassin helping Saix go all the way to the top. I'm very that you are, Lea. What you did through out eleven years, what you did to your friends, to Vexen and Zexion even through the Riku Replica in Castle Oblivion, not telling Roxas about who 'she' was._"

The duplicant snickered before fully turning to Lea, and frowned and pointed an accusing finger at the real redhead. "_You even abandoned Isa for both of them. And abandoned the girl you guys met but couldn't save. She was the first victim to your lies. Then you tried to get Roxas back by using Kairi, to destroy Sora and turn him back into a heartless. Can you really be her friend even after what you did to her? Does she even fully trust you? You're the Flurry of the Dancing Flames, the Assassin of the Organization. Yet you even betrayed them, because you're a monster._"

"I'm not like that now." Lea pointed out, sounding bored and uninterested while actually trying to hold back his anger. "I gave up my existence to help Sora. To save him and Roxas. I knew that, if I couldn't save them separately, then doing what I did when they went to confront Xemnas was the only next best thing I could. I even apologized to what I did to Kairi; both to her and Sora. I even used my second chance to save them from Xehanort!"

"_Do you think that will be enough to atone for your actions? Do you even deserve to have a Keyblade?_" 'Axel' asked, with a disappointed frown. "_Come on, Lea. When it comes to Keyblades, those two kids you called best friends are the old hands._"

"What do you want with me?" Lea questioned, glaring hard at the duplicant.

'Axel' shook his head as he stopped walking and once again stood to where he first appeared from. "_You keep losing your friends because you're a coward. Oh sure you faced Heartless and Dusks and whatever else bad guys can come up with. You even faced Xehanort when you went to save Sora. That, actually, is pretty impressive. But do you want to know what you're really afraid of?_"

To his surprise, Lea shook his head. "I already do know. Myself. I'm not proud with what I did; to Isa, Roxas, her, and another I haven't been able to save, to Sora and Kairi. Not even to Vexen or Zexion, and I never will be. As much as I hate to admit it...I hate myself because of what I did."

He then glared up at his duplicant and walked up to him, facing him right in the face. "But I'm not gonna give up. Sure, I'm not the nicest guy and I probably don't even deserve a Keyblade, but so what? I made promises, and all I can do is at least keep a couple; I'll always be there to get my friends back. Every single one of them. I don't care what happens to me. I'm gonna remember her, and get her and everyone back."

Lea then stepped back and summoned his Keyblade, ready to fight just in case. "So you can either just get lost or I'll make you. You're just part of this place trying to hold me down. Not even some old lady with magic can stop me!"

"_That's more like it. Just what I wanna hear. Let's see if you're strong enough to face through your reflection._" 'Axel' snickered, summoning the Chakrams in his hands, and gave a grin that could only be a guy wanting to fight expression.

The real redhead took pleasure in facing the fake, and easily leaped to the right to avoid the bladed weapons thrown towards him. Lea then wasted no time in blocking one of the copied weapons with his Keyblade and twisted it before sending it back to the duplicant who caught it along with the other and then charged in such speed. But Lea was equally fast, if not faster. He clashed weapons with his opponent as metal clung loudly through out the room. Luckly it didn't cave in, but the two redheads were too focused on each other to worry about that.

Lea then flared up his Fire to seep into his weapon as he transformed it into his own real Chakrams and waited until 'Axel' tossed his own which was also set up in flames. But Lea jumped into the air and then tossed them at his double who snarled in pain when he was hit, despite that Lea was almost hit himself when the fake weapons nearly hit him in return. Fortunately he managed to dodge them and caught his own swiftly and spun them in his hands and then reformed it back into his Keyblade. Just as 'Axel' recovered slighty by retrieving his weapons, the two clashed again long and hard even though Lea was already nearing his limit, but the fake Axel was getting just as exhausted as he was.

Eventually after a long hard battle, Lea caught 'Axel' off guard and slashed at the duplicant's chest in a single strike, breathing hard as the mirror image froze up for a moment, then, to Lea's surprise, gave him a sympathic expression.

"_You...sure came a long way._" 'Axel' remarked, coughing slightly. "_You'll remember her...just...let your memories take time. With your combined heart._"

"Combined...what?" Lea blinked. But before he could get his answer, 'Axel' then turned into particles of purple lights and faded away completely. "Hey! Whaddya' mean by that?"

Unfortunately, his questions were left unanswered. Because the duplicant was gone. On his own once more, Lea sighed, dismissing his Keyblade and left to his own thoughts. What did the mirror version of himself mean by 'combined heart'?

"Hard to imagine you fighting yourself." A deep, familiar voice spoke behind him.

Turning around quickly to the source of the voice, Lea's eyes widened as it was Saix who stood there this time, in front of the mirror shard.

"Oh, come on!" Lea groaned, quickly re-summoning his Keyblade. "Don't tell me; you're gonna strike me down now while you have a chance, right?"

"Actually, I came to observe how you were faring. Never thought that you would become your own enemy." Saix replied, still emotionless as ever.

The redhead rolled his eyes and still kept his guard up. Trust his former friend to try and get him down even further. "How 'bout you just cut to the chase and tell me what'd you do to Kairi? Even though she told me that you didn't send in that old lady who shoved the both of us into this place, I'm willing to bet that you just said that to try and get our guard down."

"That is none of your concern." Saix told him, walking up closer to the redhead who stepped aside cautionly as the blue haired man continued. "Your mirror image merely reflects to what you did, and what I told you before."

"Now you're just ignoring everything I'm saying on purpose." Lea grunted, as his former best friend paused.

"In that case, then let me ask you something. What do you know of the Organization's true purpose?"

"Think I can list those off; One, Xemnas lied to everyone 'cept for Xigbar, obviously, since he took you to Xehanort. Two, Kingdom Hearts was never meant to give us back our hearts or create new ones for us. It was holding Xehanort's heart pieces so that when it was completed, all of us would be used as his vessels. Three, he never told us that Nobodies were capable of growing new hearts of their own and said that we were never meant to have feelings even over time. Does that satisfy you?" Lea replied dryly.

"Presicely." Saix responded. "Xehanort does not care for what will become of everyone once the War begins. His heart has already been cast into darkness long ago."

"Then why did you go along with him?" Lea demanded.

"I had other reasons. Especially since the first thing you did when you woke up after I left was to look for Sora to revive Roxas." Saix muttered cooly.

"Yeah, well, I had a dream of Roxas before I woke up. Next thing that happened, I couldn't figure out where I was at first, then I saw the others in Radiant Garden after I saw my reflection, and then, back when I thought it wasn't possible, I realized that we were people again." Lea admitted.

He paused for a moment, before glaring at Saix again, with a hint of desperation in his eyes even though he tried to hide it and continued. "But when I didn't see you or Braig, I went looking for you! I thought it'd be easy, but then I decided to leave our home to find out what happened, and when I found out that Xehanort was back too, but not the way you and I remember, I knew then...I had to do something to help. To make up all of the bad things I did to Sora and his friends. To make up to Roxas."

Lea's expression softened a little with a hint of sadness, guilt and hurt forming. "The new Organization was the last place I realized you were in. I hoped that I was wrong and that jerk Braig or Xigbar, or whatever he calls himself now, had his own plans. I just couldn't believe it...!"

"So you chose to sacrifice yourself to atone for your mistakes back then, when you faded into the darkness, to slowly be restored." Saix theoried, eyes narrowing. Though Lea thought for a second that he could see a hint of...well, he wasn't sure what he saw in the amber eyes that used to be green.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know that I'd get my heart back by having both as a Heartless and a Nobody being destroyed? In case you weren't listening to what I ticked of since you got a piece of Xehanort inside you, Xemnas lied to everyone about Nobodies becoming people again even on their own, and convinced us that Kingdom Hearts was the only way, when in reality it was all a great big plot to turn us into Xehanort's heart tanks." Lea pointed out.

He shook his head, and sighed. "When you almost killed me when I tried to get Kairi back, I knew then that I had nothin' left. So I thought, Nobody or not, why not at least do something good just once before I had to disappear? If I had to die again, I wanted to at least go not as monster, but...well, somethin' a bit heroic."

"That would explain why you were not chosen, other than being a traitor." Saix remarked, before shaking his head. "Or perhaps your heart has formed too much light for Xehanort's liking that you were no longer suitable to be a seeker of darkness."

He then gazed solely at Lea, stating. "Or maybe it's a combination of your original heart and the heart of Axel making you who you are now."

"You know something about all of this. Spill it." The redhead stated, suspiciously.

"Did it ever occure to you that you are much like you were in the Organization with a hint of when we were children? Combined as one, a merge much like with Sora, and Roxas, and Kairi and Namine." The Nobody questioned.

Lea couldn't help but softly gasp at this, as he thought of what the duplicant of himself had said.

_"__**You'll remember her...just...let your memories take time. With your combined heart.**__"_

'_My heart...combined with Axel's? That means...it was still growing by the time everything happened._' Lea thought to himself, shocked and stunned beyond belief. So he was a combination of both Lea and Axel now. Two hearts, one original, another having grown enough to still feel everything that made him think about Roxas...and the black haired girl. And he hadn't even noticed. He just assumed that he went along due to the memories as a Nobody and unlike Even and Dilan who had it the worst when it came to recovery, he managed, and so had Ienzo and Aeleus.

But they were not as unique as Sora and Roxas, and Kairi and Namine. Because Sora was only a Heartless for about maybe fifteen minutes or so or less before he was restored and kept all of his memories. Roxas, having been emotionless at first, made his own memories and his own emotions...because he was the first to fully develop a heart despite still being a Nobody. Same with Namine, except that Kairi never turned into a Heartless due to having zero darkness within her.

"Yeah, whatever, so I didn't think about that. I was too busy worrying about you and everything else that's happened since I came back, okay? I couldn't care less if I was a human or a Nobody. My name's not Xemnas or even Demyx." Lea said, trying to hide the fact that he was having a little bit of trouble accepting this new fact.

"Didn't you once try to correct everyone that your name is Lea and not Axel?" Saix pointed out, referring to what happened in the Realm of Sleep.

"Just tell me where Kairi is!" Lea demanded, changing the subject and not wanting to answer that question. "Is that the reason why you and that Mim-Granny trapped us here in the first place!?"

A long moment of pause.

"Kairi is still in this world. You should go to her." Saix replied eventually, then began to walk away, much to Lea's confusion.

"Hey, I thought you said the next time we meet that we'd be fighting, not having a conversation!" The redhead called out.

Saix paused, but didn't turn around to face his former friend. Instead, he simply said, "Not in a place where you just fought yourself. You will need your strength for later."

With that, he once again teleported away into darkness despite Lea's protests. Realizing that Saix wasn't coming back, or maybe he was going after Kairi and...leaving behind a fake her behind to trick him due to this place, the redhead became filled with growing dread. Knowing what he had to do and kicking himself for falling into the trap, Lea quickly turned and made to touch the mirror shard. As he did, it glowed and he yanked his hand back, startled. It then glowed before flying off into the ceiling, and the entire room around him vanished into light, forcing himself to shield his eyes.

When it faded, Lea lowered his arm and found, to his surprise, he was back in the room he and Kairi had been in before being separated by the two mirrors. As he gazed around and then turned to the main mirror, he found that it was shining before being restored. Would that mean...

"Axel?"

Gasping softly at the familiar, much more welcoming voice, the redhead spun to see Kairi standing there, with a bit of an uneasy look on her face.

"Kairi?" He replied, hesitating as he approached her, and Kairi seemed to be just as hesitant.

"Are you real?" They both simultaneously asked in unison, then blinked in surprise and added at the same time. "Wait, you mean you're not..."

Both Kairi and Lea paused, not sure what to say. The latter, wanting to really make sure, then shrugged uneasily. "Um...You go first?"

What Kairi said made him relieved.

* * *

_At the same time with Kairi..._

"_You must face your fears, alone._"

Gasping as she heard an unfamiliar female voice behind her, Kairi spun around quickly to see who it was, but saw no one. The teenage girl looked around carefully, but still there wasn't anybody around. Had it been her imagination? Why did the voice sound familiar? From her dreams, maybe? What did this mean?

Realizing that she had nowhere else to go but forward, Kairi sighed. "I guess...I'll have to find the first piece by myself."

With that in mind and hoping that she wouldn't fall into another trap, Kairi nervously but steeling herself began to make her way through the twisted hallway and staircases in hopes of finding the Mirror Shard and reunite with Lea while hoping that he is alright.

As she walked, she found herself creeping up along upward and sideways as though she was walking up on the wall, which to Kairi felt very weird. But then again this place was strange anyway, so maybe she shouldn't let it surprise her. If this was anything like Wonderland that Sora, and Riku told her about, then it was no wonder both of them always felt disorientated with that place.

"_**Why attempt to deny your destiny, Princess?**_"

"What?" Kairi froze, gasping softly as she glanced around, looking for the source of the voice. But there was no one. Or, at least that's what she thought to herself. She tensed, trying to stay calm and focus.

"_**You were born with a pure heart full of light, because your only true purpose is not to live a life as others. You are nothing more than a vessel of light; A simple key, moving like a puppet with strings attached.**_"

Kairi tried not to let her fear show as she summoned her Keyblade, looking around. Was this just another nightmare? She thought she'd got rid of the darkness that formed into Xehanort in her dream. Or was it the Mirror World attempting to consume her into her greatest fears? Then another thought occured to her; what if she mistook a mirror-Lea for the real one only to be kidnapped and taken to either Mim or...Xehanort? Was this all part of the plan to take her to Organization XIII...to use her and the other New Seven Lights?

Because Xehanort thought of her as a puppet of light?

"No! I'm my own person! I'm not a vessel!" Kairi exclaimed to the dark voice, just as more Heartless appeared in front of her. Snickering in anger, the teenage girl stood ready, and quickly struck down one Heartless that leaped at her.

She then fought against the other Heartless as hard as she could, dodge-rolling out of the way before one of the Flower Heartless could shot darts at her. Kairi responded in casting her Flower Shoot and kept at it until the last of the monsters were gone. Panting a little, the teenage girl looked around before gazing up ahead at the seemingly endless passage ahead of her. While she was still a little bit afraid of the voice and what it meant, Kairi tried to shake away those fears and instead focused on attempting to find the Mirror Shard.

Nodding to herself, Kairi hurried onward into the hallway staircases which went up and down and all around and while she fought the Heartless while surprisingly not falling despite being upside down like she was standing on the ceiling, she thought that it would go on forever. But finally after reaching the normal level and that the end of the room was a mixture of the Dark Forest but inside a chamber that looked like the Evil Queen's Mirror Chamber, at the far end, she saw the mirror shard she was looking for.

Which means she can somehow take it back and then find the real Lea, despite that she hasn't seen a fake him yet.

"_**Vessel of Light...**_"

Gasping again, Kairi spun around and, to her greatest horror and fear, was an elderly man standing before her just in the doorway from where she came from. Though he seemed to be darker than she expected and his eyes glowingly brightly and lifeless and cold, for a moment she thought that she'd been finally caught and led right into the trap. The teenage girl began stepping backwards, almost paralyzed in fear.

"_**But with a heart which also filled with light, but only dragging everyone you claim to call friends into darkness.**_" The man continued darkly with a cruel smirk.

Kairi tried to stay calm, before she remembered where she was, and despite her growing fears, she glared hard at him and said. "...You're not real. You're just a mirror image of my fears, and my nightmares."

The mirror of who she assumed to be Xehanort simply chuckled, "_**You are correct, Princess. However, it is not as much as a nightmare I am. What I am, is everything that will show you the truth.**_"

"You're lying!" Kairi snapped, not willing to fall for the trap. "I don't believe you!"

"_**You are much too stubborn and foolish for your own good. How many times have your friends sacrifice themselves for you? How you were used as tool for others? You are the reason why they fight over you. Have you simply accepted your destiny to live alone just as you should, as were other Princesses were meant to live, no one would be hurt. No one would fall into darkness.**_" Mirror-Xehanort proclaimed, shaking his head in sheer disappointment.

He then pointed an accusing finger at her, continuing. "_**You alone are a Princess of Heart, the key to open up Kingdom Hearts and forge the Keyblade; an empty vessel with a key of light. But with others...You are their DARKNESS!**_"

"Stop it! I know who I am! I'm not anyone's darkness!" Kairi exclaimed, shaking her head despite that she was starting to panic and feel like that maybe the fake Xehanort was right. Memories of the times of how her heart went inside Sora's heart, how he and Riku fought for her safety even when Maleficent used the latter for her own gains. When the Fake Ansem possessed Riku. When Sora sacrificed himself to restore her heart and the hearts of Snow White, Jasmine, Belle, Aurora, Alice and Cinderella. How the Organization were attempting to use her to force Sora to complete their version of Kingdom Hearts...

How Lea, as Axel, tried to use her to bring back Roxas before regretting it and then sacrificed himself to save Sora, and vanished for a while before being restored as his human self.

A painful ache of realization formed in her chest, and Kairi couldn't help but begin to think that...maybe she is the darkness of her friends. What did she do? Being kidnapped countless times, being helpless and not being able to help them...

She shook her head and tried not to let those get to her, because she wanted to protect them this time. "I fight to protect my friends! I won't give up on them!"

This only seemed to amuse the mirror image of Xehanort, because he simply chuckled and raised his hand, which made Kairi flinch and summon her Keyblade, just in case. "_**Then perhaps, I should show you the future you have been foreseeing.**_"

'_What?_' Kairi thought, only to gasp as darkness then shot out from Mirror-Xehanort's hand and she tried to shield herself from it, but soon found that everything around her darkened. The next time she opened her eyes which she closed shut, she found herself standing in what appeared to be a desolate wasteland with canyon walls all around. Her heart froze up as a thought came into mind.

Was she taken from the Timeless Realm and sent to where the real Xehanort was waiting?

Or maybe not, because standing in front of here, where not only...herself, but also Sora, Riku, Lea, King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Aqua, Ventus, Namine, Roxas, and...to her shock and realization, was a girl with black hair and black coat. Was that who Lea was struggling to remember? Facing them was...Terra, but with silver hair and yellow eyes, as though he was possessed. Then, to Kairi's horror, the possessed Terra struck Ventus with a dark looking Keyblade and everyone screamed out in horror, before Sora attempted to fight him, but was knocked away.

To make things worse, towers of Heartless appeared and forced everyone to fight them, even as Lea quickly stood in front of Kairi and tried to block the possessed Terra with his Keyblade, but was knocked away and hit a rock hard. Kairi saw herself freeze up, and Sora, seeing this, raced over despite the others protests. He hugged her and used himself to shield her, but Goofy quickly used his shield to block the possessed Terra's Keyblade and, as though having enough, the silver haired man vanished with an evil chuckle. That's when things got even worse, because one towering Heartless engulfed both Aqua, and the unconscious Ventus, swallowing them whole.

"Oh no...!" Kairi gasped in horror, feeling herself frozen and not even realizing that another Sora somehow materialized behind her.

Then, Donald seemed to be using some sort of magic and despite Goofy and Mickey's protests, he used it while glowing brightly and vanished the Demon Tower...then collapsed and passed out. Mickey and Goofy hurried over to his side and tried to wake him up, but was futile and began to cry, which made the real Kairi and the others realize that...that Donald was gone. Just then another Demon Tower engulfed the trio, much to the horror of the remaining travelers. Another then attempted to reach Lea, but Kairi saw her other self race over towards him as did Sora and Riku...but they were all then engulfed, leaving her other self behind, until she too was swallowed up.

"NO!" Kairi screamed, shaking her head, tears falling as she saw this before screaming in horror as the Heartless then engulfed the entire area and shield herself as much as possible. But she didn't feel any pain. Hesitatingly lowering her arms and opening her eyes, all she saw was...just never ending darkness.

Was this...what will happen? Was the Mirror image of Xehanort telling the truth? Kairi was...really the darkness of her friends and they would all die and lose because of her? Guilt and sorrow and fear seeped into her heart, and Kairi felt weak in the legs before collapsing onto them and sobbed.

"_Kairi?_"

That voice...could it be?

Looking up quickly, Kairi looked behind her to see...Sora, but in different clothes this time, and like what she did, he cut his hair slightly and restyled it. Come to think of it, she noticed the same thing with him in that vision. Was this some sort of trick? Or was this really just another one of her nightmares?

"S-Sora?" She tearfully asked.

As through relieved but heart-broken to see her like this, Sora raced over and made it just as Kairi slowly stood up. "_Are you okay? How are you...?_"

"Is this... real?" She asked, uncertain.

"_Huh? But...I thought this was..._" Sora trailed off, looking around until a realization set in. "_Is this...another connecting dream or something? What's going on?_"

Connecting dream? Was this like back in Pranksters Paradise? If so, then was she asleep? Was Xehanort carrying her unconscious form at this moment? Or was this an illusion?

"Maybe...maybe you're connecting with me with our hearts." Kairi spoke up, wiping away her tears. "But...I'm not sure if I'm awake or not."

"_Well, if it is a dream, then I'll try my best to help you. I don't know what's going on, but...I'm not gonna lose you again. You're stronger than you think, I know you are._" Sora told her, with his usual determination.

"You think? But...aren't I just a burden?"

"_Aw, c'mon, Kairi!_" Sora shook his head. "_You beat up Heartless when you first got your Keyblade, remember? I'll always worry about you and everyone else, but isn't that what friends do? We all worry about each other. Our hearts are connected. I don't know what we saw was, but..._"

He trailed off, before continuing with determination. "_But whatever it was, it won't happen! I'll find you. I promise._"

She wasn't certain why, but whenever Sora was around, he always believed in her, worried about her, cared about her as he did with everyone else. Sometimes he can be a bit clueless, but Kairi felt at ease. Whatever they did see...it won't happen. The teenage girl nodded, then gasped softly as she saw him beginning to fade, then realized that their connection was fading again.

But then she now knew what she had to do.

"And I'll find you, Sora. No matter where I go." Kairi promised, and despite his worried expression, he smiled warmly until he vanished. Knowing what she had to do, Kairi summoned her Keyblade, and declared, seemingly to no one. "What I saw, in that horrible vision...IS AN ILLUSION!"

She then thrust her Keyblade through the darkness which then shattered all around her, and the next thing she knew when a bright light shined, Kairi was back in where Mirror-Xehanort trapped her. Which meant that she'd been awake, but trapped in an illusion and all she needed to do to free herself was believe in herself...and Sora.

"_**WHAT!?**_" He exclaimed, bewildered.

"I won't let anything happen to my friends! What you just showed me was just an illusion! I'll prove it!" Kairi declared, taking up a fighting stance.

Stunned and in disbelief by her resolve, Mirror-Xehanort then growled before he turned into a transparent glass and shape-shifted. Kairi tensed, before seeing, to her surprise, that it took the shape of...a darker version of herself. Her duplicant's hair was pink, her dress was purple and white, eyes were glowing like a lifeless puppet, and the Keyblade was black and grey and white, with the flower teeth dead and withered.

"_You are only denying yourself._" The duplicant spoke in a hollow-echoing voice that was mixed with Kairi's voice. It made the first attack by leaping forward to strick. But Kairi quickly blocked the darker Keyblade and the two of them clashed with the blades clanging until the Princess of Heart dodge-rolled out of the way.

"Flower Shoot!" She chanted, her attack hitting her doppelganger on the side as it screamed in pain. This allowed Kairi to then use Thunder before racing forward and thrust and slashed as hard and quickly as she could. However, the duplicant dodge-rolled and shot out a darker version of her spell, forcing Kairi to use Reflect to protect herself before being forced to clash Keyblades with the Mirror image once more. Kairi was knocked backwards when her duplicant kicked her in the stomach and she cried out in pain before flipping and landed in a crouch, before quickly casting Cure on herself and then dodged a Dark Firaga that was cast.

Finding enough to gulp down an elixir, Kairi then felt her magic being restored and leaped out of the way when the fake Kairi sent out numerous orbs of darkness that looked like mirror glass shards and then quickly used reflect to protect herself and the mirror shard she came to find in the first place. Once the attacks stopped even though she was struggling, the Princess of Hearts then sent out a Blizzaga which the duplicant blocked, but Kairi used this chance to quickly used Firaga next, which knocked her opponent back and sent flying. However, as this duplicant copied almost all of her moves, it flipped and landed in a crouch itself, though she didn't give it a chance to fully recover.

The teenage girl sent out another Flower Shoot, to which the duplicant shockingly responded by sending out the same darker version of the spell and the two attacks collided before exploding in the middle. Kairi had to use her Destiny's Embrace Keyblade to block out most of it, before leaping to the left to avoid in getting slashed by her own mirror image who quickly clashed with her as though it wasn't even tiring at all. But Kairi could tell that her opponent was reaching it's limit even though she was feeling the same herself. This had to end soon and she knew it. The both kept at it until eventually Kairi finally got the better advantage.

Knocking away her doppelganger, the Princess of Heart chanted Light which engulfed the mirror image who screamed in agony. When the attack faded, the fake Kairi glared hard before falling backwards and simply vanishing into tiny purple particles which faded all together. Panting in exhaustion from the fight, and glancing around carefully, Kairi allowed herself to relax before dismissing her Keyblade and then turned to the mirror shard and approached it. She hoped that Lea was alright and wondered if she had to find him after she returned the shard to the main mirror.

As she did, it glowed and she yanked his hand back, startled. It then glowed before flying off into the ceiling, and the entire room around him vanished into light, forcing herself to shield her eyes.

When it faded, Kairi lowered her arms and found, to her surprise, she was back in the room she and Lea had been in before being separated by the two mirrors. As she looked around and noticed the main mirror was already fixed, she noticed a familiar figure in front of her and, to her relief and yet caution, was Lea who seemed to have just returned himself...Or maybe he was another mirror image.

"Axel?" She spoke up, causing her friend to turn to see her.

"Kairi?" He replied, hesitating as he approached her.

"Are you real?" They both simultaneously asked in unison, then blinked in surprise and added at the same time. "Wait, you mean you're not..."

Both Kairi and Lea paused, not sure what to say. The latter, wanting to really make sure, then shrugged uneasily. "Um...You go first?"

* * *

When Lea said this, Kairi sighed in relief and said. "I was worried about you."

"Oh, good. For a split second, I thought you were another mirror copy or whatever." The redhead sighed, just as relieved as she was. More than anything, he was glad that his friend was still here, safe and sound and definitely real. "But seriously, you had me worried sick."

"I'm sorry." Kairi replied, feeling guilty. "I tried to follow you, but the mirror grabbed me. I had to face a mirror image of...well, I guess I faced one of my greatest fears."

Lea sighed, as he felt guilty for not being able to be there. "It's my fault. I should've paid more attention to how crazy this place is. Especially since I ended up fighting a fake me and...well...I guess I had to face all the bad things I did."

The redhead looked away slightly, not sure if he can trust himself to face her. "Not even sure if I can make up for all the sins I made. What I did to everyone I cared about and...everything."

"I'm sure you will." Kairi reassured, and when her taller friend looked at her, puzzled, she continued. "Riku doubted himself after what happened between him and Xehanort's Heartless. He wanted to atone everything he did, and he managed it. And if he can do it, then you can too, Axel."

Even though he was surprised by her reassurance, Lea quickly realized that she was right. Riku did end up causing problems by being tricked, and afterwards after escaping the Realm of Darkness, he worked hard to atone for his actions, despite having turned into the form of Xehanort's Heartless. Even as he returned to normal, though, Riku must've still doubted himself capable of wielding the Keyblade. Because walking the path of darkness had changed him, but now that kid was a Keyblade Master.

As for Lea himself, he also came to a realization that darkness has changed him, too. For better or worse. Even though he still had a lot of work to do, he knew right then, that he can also atone, because he was given the chance to do so, and now was remembering what his mirror self was saying, even if it was trying to give him a bunch of mumbo jumbo.

"Guess you got a point." He finally replied, grateful. "Riku and Sora sure are lucky to have you for a best friend."

"I-I guess. But, we're friends too." Kairi replied back, blushing a little at the compliment. "When this is over, we should all hang out together on the islands. You, me, Sora, Riku, Roxas, the girl you're trying to remember, the King, Donald, Goofy, Namine, Aqua, Ventus, and Terra. Even Isa too."

"Sounds like a blast." Lea chuckled. "I've always wanted to go to the beach with the others."

Just as soon as the words left his lips, however, Lea softly gasped as he suddenly realized he didn't remember when he thought of that...except that he felt the familiar jolt in his mind which made him wince again, and he could vaguely hear Kairi's alarmed cry when she called out to him, before another lost memory formed in his mind...

* * *

_Axel watched in, well, maybe it was worry, he wasn't sure, but he shouldn't have been feeling it. But it did, because he found himself softly gasping when the black-haired girl, apparently having a dizzy episode, nearly fell off the clock tower. Fortunately, Roxas reacted quickly and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her back up to safety. The spiky-blonde haired boy and the redhead felt relief when they saw that she was, well, somewhat okay._

_"Maybe you're not completely well yet." Roxas suggested to her._

_"No, it's nothing like that." The Black-haired girl shook her head, in a hint of sadness._

_It was a few long moments of tensed silence and none of the trio knew what to say. It wasn't until Axel thought of an idea and smiled when it hit him._

_"Got it!" He exclaimed._

_"Huh? Got what?" Roxas asked, confused._

_The redhead turned to his friends and told them with a grin. "On our next day off, let's all go to the beach, huh?"_

_"The beach? Where did that idea come from?" The black haired girl asked, confused as Roxas was._

_"We should go someplace different for a change." Axel replied, standing up with an excited expression._

_Roxas blinked, before stating. "You're talking about a vacation with friends."_

_"Exactly."_

_"I'll join you...if I can." The black-haired girl muttered, sadly._

_"What are you talking about Xi-?" Roxas asked, still not sure why their friend was still feeling down or doubting herself._

_"It'll be a blast, trust me." Axel reassured._

_The black haired girl considered it, before nodding and replied, with a soft smile. "Yes, all right. Let's go."_

* * *

Groaning as the memory ended, Lea panted a little as the pain dulled. While he was glad it was a nicer memory...well, maybe nicer-ish, but still nice compared to what he'd seen lately, it still...hurt, knowing that the three of them didn't get the chance to go to the beach. As far as he was aware of, anyway.

"Axel? Are you okay?" Kairi asked, stirring Lea back to reality and he noticed that she held a very worried expression.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. Just remembered a nicer memory this time." Lea replied, sighing. "It was me making a suggestion to Roxas and the girl that we would go to the beach. On our next day off."

"But you never got the chance to?"

The redhead shook his head slowly in sadness. "Don't think so."

Kairi sighed, and even though she had no idea if what she saw earlier could be a sign of something horrible happening or if it was an illusion, she hoped that Sora would be able to save those connected to him and that Roxas, and Namine would all become their own beings and be saved along with the black-haired girl, Aqua, Ventus and Terra.

She had to have faith in him...just like he did for her.

"Well then, we'd better make sure everyone is saved, so that you three can finally have that chance." She finally told him, with renewed determination.

Lea blinked again, before smiling and nodded. He was determined to get his friends back. All of them; Isa, Roxas, the black haired girl...and another only he and Isa knew of at the moment. But he had to take it step by step.

"'Kay. But first, let's get outta here." He replied.

"Right. We have to protect Snow White." Kairi replied, almost immediately remembering that they still had to save her from the Evil Queen.

With that in mind, the two of them hurried over to the mirror that has been restored, and after a careful testing with Lea pushing his hand through, found that they can now leave this place. So, he and Kairi then stepped through together and left the Mirror World behind...just as Saix had been watching them in secret before making his way towards the mirror and stepped through himself before he would end up trapped in here.

But not before thinking to himself, '_The beach, huh? Why am I not surprised?_'

Despite this, Kairi and Lea's mission was still far from over.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so the next chapter will definitely end the Dwarf Woodland Arc, but at least this chapter wasn't just re-imagining the movie and had more of an original story to it, even though I based on the Mirror World from 0.2.**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	43. Chapter 42: Miracles and Weddings

**Author's note: This chapter will definitely be the last of the Dwarf Woodland arc, and showing the beginning of the next Disney World Sora's group will be visiting. One that I've been wanting to do with this story and having wanted in the real KH3 but was never put in. Well, one of the two, anyway.**

**So, let's venture onward!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 42: Miracles and Weddings.

The mirror that had imprisoned Kairi and Lea still remained in the same spot as it was just after Madam Mim left. Silent and alone, right until it's glass began to glow and shone brightly. Next thing that happened, Kairi and Lea finally emerged and landed in a soft short drop. Opening their eyes, the duo looked up and around their surroundings. At first, they thought they went to the wrong place, but the more they recognized the Dark Forest, and looked at the mirror behind them, the more they realized that they were back in the same place before that crazy old witch trapped them.

"We did it!" Kairi said happily, relieved.

"Sure glad to be outta there. I knew it would work." Lea said, smiling. While he wasn't certain why Kairi had been having the dreams of Aqua in the realm of darkness, he was thankful that the way how the now corrupted Keyblade Master managed to escape the Mirror World came in handy, despite the place having briefly separated him from his fellow Keyblade Wielder in training.

"Right, but we need to get back to Snow White." Kairi reminded, her relief turning to worry, and almost instantly, Lea shared it and he nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. C'mon!" Lea took the lead, and Kairi quickly followed, going around the mirror and hurried through the Dark Forest to return to the Cottage, hoping that they were not too late.

Though not long after the two Keyblade Wielders were in a far distance from the mirror, it glowed once more and revealed Saix, who glanced around and was satisfied to have returned. He then turned to the mirror that caused this mess and glared at it.

"It would seem I will have to be more careful from now on. I cannot linger here much longer." The blue-haired man said to himself. "The old woman will pay dearly for this."

Without another word, he summoned his Claymore and with a huge mighty swing, he thrust it at the mirror into pieces, shattering it into oblivion. Despite the suspicions he has heard along with many others, Saix wasn't one to believe in such things.

"Seven years bad luck. What superstitious nonsense." His work done he teleported away to continue his work. He still had more things to focus on.

To do that, he would need a little bit of help.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Cottage as hours have passed, Snow White has discovered that the seven people who lived here are actually Seven Dwarfs; Doc, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Happy, Dopey, and Grumpy, and while the latter was a bit suspicious, he eventually warmed to the idea that she can stay after the Princess explained what happened, and the Dwarfs agreed. They all had immediately become such good friends. Though when the little men left for work at the Diamond Mines, Snow White planned on baking a special Groose-Berry Pie as a surprise for Grumpy.

But then she was visited by an old woman in a black cloak, and despite the warnings not to let strangers in, the kind Princess thought the woman needed help. But she was unfortunately unaware that it was actually the Evil Queen in disguise, having poisoned an Apple that would put Snow White in a deep sleep. Because he she has tricked the gullible young woman into thinking it was a wishing apple and gave it to her.

Snow White, having made a wish, took a bite...and after realizing she was feeling strange, she began to lose consciousness...and just as the Evil Queen had plotted, the Princess collapsed onto the floor, the bitten apple rolling onto the ground. The Queen in disguise laughed manically in her victory, just as it began to rain outside, and thunder roared with lightning flashing.

"Now I'll be the fairest in the land!" The Evil Queen declared. At last, she has doomed Snow White, and will not forever be the fairest one of all. Still laughing, she began to take her leave to return to the castle and drop her old hag disguise.

However, no sooner had she stepped outside, she heard rapid footsteps, coming from two directions. Puzzled, the Queen looked to her right and saw, to her shock, was seven little men, one with a red shirt and glasses, another in orange and blue, another with a yellow shirt with sleeves too long and a purple hat, another sleepy looking, another in green and orange, another in a brown shirt, and finally a grumpy looking one all racing up to her.

Stunned, the Queen looked to up ahead of her and to her dismay, were Kairi and Lea who skid to a stop and upon seeing her, held shocked and horrified expressions as despite the disguise, they knew what had happened. Kairi covered her mouth with her hands after letting out a gasp, and the Queen knew, the teenage girl and her taller companion were the warriors the Magic Mirror had warned her about, and it horrified and infuriated her that Mim had failed to kill them.

But none the less, they were too late to stop her and save Snow White. Still, with the Seven Dwarfs attempted to stop her, the Queen, with a powerful surge of darkness of anger, hate and fear which covered her, she had no choice but to flee. The moment she turned and ran, the darkness grew and formed into a large form of it's own. It forced the Dwarfs to skid to a stop as it took shape of a Heartless, drawn from the Queen's dark heart. It resembled to a twisted, dark skinned, giant version of her disguise, with large apples oozing in blue, acid like liquid in a basket and floating.

"The Heartless!" Kairi and Lea exclaimed, and knowing what to do, quickly summoned their Keyblades and raced over, knocking it back as hard as they could, sending it overing backwards and out of the way from the cottage. The Dwarf, backing away from the giant monster in fear, were stunned to see two strangers save them.

"Go! We'll handle this thing!" Lea instructed the seven little men.

"We're friends of Snow White. We'll catch up to help stop that horrible woman!" Kairi added, still focusing her gaze on the Heartless.

"You heard them! The witch's getting away!" Grumpy ordered his fellow Dwarfs, who nodded and ran past the two Keyblade Wielders, hurrying on into the dark forest to catch up to the fleeing Queen.

Kairi and Lea in the meantime waited until they were certain the Dwarfs made it safely past the Heartless who recovered and turned it's attention to the two Keyblade Wielders. It then plucked one of the exploding apples at them, but they dodged out of the way as it hit the ground and exploded and sending out the slimy blue liquid all over the place. Thankfully none of it hit the duo or even the Cottage despite that it was dangerously close. So Kairi first used a Blizzaga at it's face, while Lea used the monster's distraction to thrust his Keyblade at it's chest, forcing it further away from the house as they taunted it to follow them.

Once they were in a clearing of the Dark Forest up the bridge but focused on keeping it away from the Dwarfs, the two Keyblade Wielders gave the Heartless no chance of attacking again as they slashed and sliced at it's body before it decided to try and catch them off-guard. It made to grab Kairi, but Lea, seeing this, grunted before he transformed his Keyblade into his Chakrams and despite the thunderstorm that was brewing at the moment, encast them fire and threw them, the bladed weapons slashing at it's arms, causing it to roar in pain and once again over back. In the meantime, Kairi used her Flower Shoot spell to keep it distracted.

But the Heartless somehow recovered quickly, much to their shock, before it threw numerous exploding apples right at them. At Lea's warning, the two repeatedly had to dodge and tried not to lose their balance when the exploding poisoned fruit rocked the area which made this a little bit harder for them to try and avoid in getting hit. Even though the attack finished, the Heartless wasn't done yet as it then held up it's arm and formed a large potion bottle before tossing that onto the ground where it exploded much larger than the exploding apples did and even though they both dodged it, the shockwave still sent them flying backwards and they hit the ground hard.

Kairi and Lea both struggled to stand up as the Heartless cackled as though it thinks that it won this fight. But while they were pushing themselves up, Kairi glared at it, panting. They had to do something, or else they were done for...

'_No! I won't give up!_' Kairi thought to herself, and despite her injuries, she was determined to not let anyone down. Not even Snow White. Struggling to her feet, the Princess of Heart stood ready, feeling her heart warm up and the grip of her Keyblade in her hands warmed slightly and she felt the magic of light. She wasn't sure what it was, but, something within her was somehow bursting. Or rather, she felt a connection with someone; someone close to her.

So much so that Kairi felt as though she was in a trance, because she first used Cure on herself and Lea, and then leaped high into the air to meet the Heartless's face level before holding up her Keyblade above her as it formed another orb of light. But unlike her Flower Shoot or simple Light spell, it took shape of a star, somewhat resembling to her Lucky Charm she passed on to Sora.

"Charm!" She yelled out, and the star-shaped light glowed brightly that shot up five beams into the air before it rained down onto the Heartless, trapping it in it's place as it roared in agony due to the surprisingly powerful light Kairi had just self-learned and discovered. It weakly lowered itself while Kairl landed safely back on the ground, with an awestruck Lea standing next to her.

"_Whoa!_ Where'd that neat trick come from?" Lea exclaimed, beyond amazed.

"I...don't know. I think I just learned a new spell." Kairi replied, just as stunned herself. She had no idea how it even happened. Maybe she should ask Merlin and Master Yen Sid later to get a better idea.

The groans of the Heartless though quickly brought the two of them back to the reality of the situation and, with renewed strengths, Kairi and Lea quickly continue to fight the Heartless who attempted to finish them off, but has by then already weakened and after what felt like a long time, they eventually struck it from both sides and finished it off simultaneously. The two Keyblade wielders stood on their guard, but didn't need to worry, because the Heartless exploded in defeat and it's basket of large apples vanishing as well.

They didn't stop to take a breather, and instead quickly took off through the forest and up the rocky path leading up to a mountain, while the storm continued to rage. Kairi and Lea eventually noticed the Seven Dwarfs who were still following the Evil Queen in the Hag disguise and only took a brief notice of the two before all nine of them continued onward. The Queen in the meantime, still desperate to escape her pursurers, eventually found herself reaching the precipice of the mountain, trapped and cornered.

"What do I do?" She asked herself, desperately and then glared down at the nine who were trying to catch her. "Those meddling fools!"

She then noticed a large boulder, and then had an idea. The Evil Queen then took hold of a thick stick and shoved it underneath the rock, pushing hard to loosen it into the direction of Kairi, Lea, and the Seven Dwarfs who were quickly catching up.

"I'll crush your bones!" She grunted. By then, Grumpy was the first to notice and skid to a stop, forcing everyone else to do the same.

"Look out!" He exclaimed, as the others saw what was about to happen and their eyes widened in horror, and quickly turned to try and backtrack and hoped that they wouldn't be crushed.

The Evil Queen laughed evilly as the rock was about to slip and roll down. But then a huge lightning strike hit the cliff behind her. It was such strong that it caused not only the Queen to nearly jump out of her skin, but it crumbled the base of the rock, causing the stone precipice to collapse. She lost her balance and then fell screaming all the way to the ground. The boulder slid backwards and fell just seconds after her...where it then crushed her to death. Kairi, Lea, and the Seven Dwarfs, seeing what happened, peered over the remaining edge with looks of disbelief that a single bolt of lightning had caused the Evil Queen to fall to her death.

However, despite that the evil woman was now gone, none of them had any reason to celebrate.

* * *

A day later, after the group returned to the cottage and found a lifeless Snow White, they all mourned for the loss of the gentle Princess. So much so that the Dwarfs didn't have the heart to bury her. Instead, they worked on a Glass Coffen and took it to the edge of the Forest and placed Snow White into it and laid flowers around her and on her chest, kneeling before her after opening it briefly to do so and continued to mourn.

Just a few feet away from them, were Kairi and Lea who were silently mourning themselves, and blamed themselves for not being able to keep her safe. Even though the real Snow White was safe and sound, it still ached their hearts, knowing that they shouldn't have followed Mim and fallen into her trap. Kairi felt the most guilt as she hardly slept and was still reduced to tears. Lea squeezed his eyes shut, wishing that he hadn't stupidly lead himself and Kairi to that stupid hold hag.

In the midst of the mourning, Kairi and Lea heard footsteps as did the Seven Dwarfs. In union, they all turned to see the handsome Prince who, having been trying to find Snow White, his true love, briefly heard of what happened and approached, passing the guilt-ridden Keyblade Wielders and the Dwarfs parted to let the young man pass. Seeing the sight of the lifeless Princess, the Prince felt heart-broken at the loss. He approached her and leaned over, before gently kissing her and then knelt down to mourn.

A few moments later, however, a miracle happened. Kairi was the first to notice and gasped, causing Lea to look up and his eyes widened, because Snow White...her eyes were blinking open, sitting up. Soon, everyone else noticed and they were all stunned in disbelief, relief and growing happiness to see her alive, and awake. The Dwarfs began to celebrate, even Grumpy who smiled happily and danced around. Snow White, seeing the Prince who stood up and smiled happily, returned the smile upon seeing her true love and the two embraced, reunited.

"Snow White's awake! I'm so glad!" Kairi cheered, shedding more tears but this time of happiness.

"Wow. True Love is powerful." Lea whispered, unable to express just how relieved he felt. While he wasn't really a romantic kind of guy, he knew the difference between loving those he cared about and being in love with someone.

"A true loves kiss...that's so sweet." Kairi said, hearing what her friend said. Though as soon she said this, once again time froze around her and Lea who gasped when he saw this happening. The area around them vanished and instead revealed the Dark Forest...with Snow White and to their surprise, Ventus.

Which only confirmed what they thought of upon seeing Terra in a vision earlier.

"_What's wrong?_" Ven asked, leaning close to the crying Princess, apparently lost. The same way how Kairi and Lea found the illusionary Snow White.

"_These horrible trees-they tried to grab me._" She sobbed.

Ven gave her a comforting smile as he held out his hand to her, reassuring the Princess. "_Ah, it's okay. You were probably just seeing things. It happens to all of us when we're afraid._"

'_Ventus is just like Sora._' Kairi thought to herself, smiling as the missing Keyblade Wielder's kindness was so sweet.

'_He's such a nice guy._' Lea thought, liking Ventus even more.

Seeing that he was willing to help her, Snow White took Ven's offer and stood up before she said. "_Oh, thank you. I feel quite better now. I'm sure I'll get along, somehow._" She then requested as she looked around her surroundings. "_But...I do need a place to sleep at night. Would you know anywhere I might?_"

"_Well, I saw a house just up ahead. Come on, I'll take you there._" Ven answered, before remembering something and introduced himself. "_Oh, I'm Ventus. Ven for short._"

Just as Kairi and Lea were expecting Snow White to introduce herself to Ven, the image quickly changed once more and while it it rapidly sped forward this time and gave them glimpsing images of Ven leading Snow White to the cottage before he was shooed by the Seven Dwarfs, apparently not trusting him, and then went to find Terra, but then left, and then they saw Aqua arriving and learning what happened before she left to the Queen's Castle and meeting the Prince who, informed of what happened, hurried to find Snow White.

Then Kairi and Lea saw Aqua being drawn into the same Mirror that the Queen forced Terra into and like before, she managed to escape only to discover that the Evil Queen is already gone. She then returned to the cottage and mourned along with the Dwarfs and the Prince and as time returned to the vision, much like what they witnessed, the Prince's kiss awoke Snow White, much to everyone's relief.

"_That's so sweet. It's just like a miracle..._" Aqua muttered to herself, happy to see Snow White wide awake. Kairi and Lea couldn't help but smile at the Keyblade Master's words and both silently agreed that it was just like a miracle.

And then times before, everything around Kairi and Lea wavered again and in the blinding light which they had to shield heir eyes, they soon found themselves back to the current celebration.

"Well, all's well that ends well." Lea remarked, folding his arms to his chest at the scene. He then added when he thought about the vision. "Though, I guess those little guys didn't take much liking to Ven."

"But Ven...he's much like Sora. I know he wouldn't do anything horrible. I could feel it, even though it was a vision of the past." Kairi pointed out, thoughtfully.

"Some people just judge by appearance. That's just kinda of a sad thing, but it's part of life." The taller redhead reminded her, before sighing. "Though given what happened, it's that Mim lady I'm worried about."

The teenage girl nodded in agreement. "Me too. She almost caught us and she could've given me to Xehanort." She shuddered a little. "I...was almost lost into darkness. But then I saw Sora. Or at least, an illusion of him. I don't know."

"Sorry. Hadn't meant for you to go through that." Lea said apologetically.

"It's okay, Axel." Kairi replied, smiling a little, before teasingly scolded. "And what did I say about apologizing?"

"Well, I'd kinda rather keep doin' that than grovel." He chuckled. "Not that I'd grovel to bad guys like Old Man Xehanort."

Kairi couldn't help but giggle. "Somehow, I find it hard picturing you groveling to anybody."

"Hey!" Lea playfully pouted, laughing with his friend.

Short time later, after saying their goodbyes to Snow White, the Prince and the Seven Dwarfs who all wished them well, Kairi and Lea ventured through the now colourful forest when they heard the familiar twinkling sound which made them look to a single tree, and as they expected, a Keyhole appeared. Nodding to each other, summoned their Keyblades and held them out. Beams of light hit the Keyhole which glowed brighter and not only made a locking sound, it also revealed an entry point of light, their exit from this world, and entry to the next step of their journey.

That done, Kairi and Lea carefully stepped through as the light shone brighter, filling up the area as they soon left the illusion of Dwarf Woodlands while, having a mutual agreement, decided to keep a closer eye on Madam Mim and if they have to, Saix as well as other members of Organization XIII.

They soon ventured to the next illusionary world, another step closer in completing their task and if Merlin and Master Yen Sid saw that they would be ready, completing their training.

* * *

_Back in the Realm of Light...a little bit before Radiant Garden..._

Meanwhile, Master Xehanort stood on the tallest stone pillar in the Keyblade Graveyard, deep into his thoughts while gazing at the twelve other pillars but not really paying much attention to the rocks. No, his thoughts were more onto that. He was, however, aware of the arrival of Xigbar who had just teleported in and stood on the rock pillar to his left.

"Bad news, Old Coot." The eye-patched man announced in a bored but vaguely worried tone. "The kid's got four Pieces of Light now."

"I know. I could sense it." Xehanort told him. He wasn't fully surprised, but he was disappointed that Sora, that dull, ordinary boy, has already found four of the seven pieces to find what those fools of light were looking for. "However, that is not what intrigues or concerns me."

"Wanna run that by me again?" Xigbar queried, confused.

"The Pieces of Light could not be found by anyone and have never been successfully located. Not even the darkness could identify their hidden locations. And yet, Sora has been able to do so despite the Keyblade has not originally chosen him." The evil Keyblade Master explained. "And what's more; he shares a similarity with Ventus."

"_That_ kiddo who you tried to turn into the X-Blade with the Vanitas kid?" Xigbar rolled his eye. "What's that got to do with Sora?"

Xehanort secretly smirked. "It's clear now where Ventus's heart has lingered off to. I should have seen it, but you recall back in the Realm of Sleep when we were close in turning Sora into our final vessel."

Xigbar couldn't help but gasp. He almost completely forgotten about that, and then groaned in realization. "Oh, don't tell me. That kid has your ex-pupil's heart, doesn't he? Why Sora of all people? They haven't even met yet!"

"I have underestimated the boy. He is not as ordinary as I thought. The day I attempted to leave Ventus to die in my old homeworld, he somehow lived and slowly recovered. On that very same day, children are born as they are every day. Just as people die in every world one by one at the same time. Oh, but not Ventus. The day Sora was born, was when he made the first connection with his heart. A heart very unique to connect with so many, it is growing ever so steadily." Xehanort said.

"So in order to weaken him is to take away everything he cares about, right?"

"Or simply put him into a nightmare which will crush him. Separate the boy from his allies and cast him into darkness even with a simple illusion. He may have cut my connection with the Timeless Realm when I attempted to force the Princess of Heart to lose hope and fufil her true role, because his heart connected with hers, their connection just as powerful as before. But only when one is asleep and in the Realm of no Time. I cannot destroy them all at once, however."

"Why not?" The gunslinger Nobody asked.

Xehanort frowned this time, gazing at the sky. "The ancient Ourobos has risen. However, something is entirely different with the beast. Not like what legend says. Yet, unless in a weakened state, no one can control it."

Xigbar's eye widened when he heard Xehanort say this. He was a bit aware of the legend of the Evil Heartless, but he thought that was just a ghost story, not like the Keyblade War or Kingdom Hearts. On top of that, Ourobos is completely different, which meant that things had just gotten even more complicated now.

"Although, it could work to our advantage." Xehanort continued, smiling evilly once again.

That, as he saw the gleam in Xehanort's eyes, actually made Xigbar nervous.

* * *

_Back with Sora's group; just after leaving the Mysterious Tower the third time..._

Even though Sora, Donald and Goofy were relieved to hear that they were on the right track, they couldn't help but think about the situation that Yen Sid told them, Riku and King Mickey; about the Seven Lights which they already heard from Marluxia and Larxene, Kairi and Lea's test being sabotaged by someone that Merlin knew, which again they learned earlier in Radiant Garden, what Ienzo told them, Merlin being the only one to help the two new Keyblade Wielders, and the identity of Ourobos, the giant and possibly the most dangerous and unstoppable Heartless which strangely saved them, but could be doing so in order to trick them and then destory them later.

Now as they flew in their Gummiship towards the next location of the fifth Piece of Light, Sora was again thinking hard. Up until arriving in Merlin's house, he'd actually forgotten about the dream he had not long after passing out from the fight with Aqua in Arendalle; one that had him standing in the darkness, and saw Kairi; though he was surprised to have seen her in a new outfit...and a new hair cut. Even now, he wasn't certain what she was seeing, but the way how she screamed...he came to a conclusion that they had a connecting dream.

Which explained what he saw in the Kingdom of Corona. Still, to hear that she and Lea could be in danger by the Organization who were now recuiting random villains left him uneasy. But Sora knew that he had to put his trust in Merlin to help the duo and focus on finding the Key to Return Hearts.

"...I hope Kairi and Axel are okay." He finally muttered aloud after moments of silence. "I wish I could go into the Timeless Realm and help out."

"You can't. You heard what Master Yen Sid and Riku said." Donald pointed out, despite his own concerns as well. He knew how Sora would really worry if anyone of his friends including himself and Goofy were in trouble, and he shared those feelings. But there wasn't much they could do.

"Yeah, we can only count in Merlin to help them. I'm sure they're gonna be okay." Goofy added, trying to reassure the troubled teen despite the situation getting out of hand already. "Plus Leon and gang will help if somethin' does happen."

Sora just sighed. "I know, but I can't help but feel like Xehanort's already getting to them. Especially Kairi; if the Organization already know about the Princesses and the new Seven Lights, they pretty much already figured out that Kairi's one of the new seven and one of the guardians of light. What if he's trying to kidnap her again and then hold her hostage along with Rapunzel, Elsa and Anna? And the other three new lights?"

He then turned and stood on his seat to gaze at his two friends, continuing. "For all we know, they might not want to fight us and just forge that stupid X-Blade because they don't want to wait any longer. I mean, if Larxene was telling the truth, they already got their thirteen and Xion and Terra are both among them and they're trying to get to Aqua!"

Not waiting for a reply, Sora turned around and slumped into the chair again, gazing low in defeat. "And then we already lost before the fight even started."

"But Sora, we can't give up now. We still gotta find the Key to Return Hearts to help Aqua, Xion, Roxas, Ventus and Terra, and even Namine. We just gotta think positive." Goofy pointed out.

"They haven't beaten us yet!" Donald added with determination.

"And Kairi's stronger than she looks." Jiminy added, hopping onto the arm rest once more. "Plus Axel is on our side. You said that he suggested the beach half an hour ago, didn't you?"

The cricket was right, of course. Because it was indeed half an hour ago that Sora saw another memory of Roxas and Xion; one that the latter nearly fell off the Clock Tower after a dizzy spell, before the former caught her and saved her. Axel then had suggested they should go to the beach the next time they had a day off, though Sora wasn't certain if they did get that chance or not. Since then, he made a promise that once Roxas and Xion were saved along with everyone else, and when the War was over, that he'd take them to Destiny Islands so that they can all hang out together.

And despite his worries about Kairi and Lea, the others were right. In fact, Sora did recall telling Kairi that she's stronger than she thinks she is. While he was concerned about the situation, maybe he was over reacting and needed to calm down before he ended up having a panic attack.

"Yeah. You're right. I'm not giving up now." Sora replied, much to the relief of his friends who all smiled, glad to see his confidence back already. He then pulled out the four keys and added. "We're going to find that Key, no matter what."

Not even a second after he finished talking, the four Pieces of Light glowed in light before Sora stood up, knowing what to do. He gently let go and the four pieces floated before the four crystals shot out three beams of light, and like before, becoming intertwined as one into the distance. Sora then summoned his Kingdom Key and held it out when it glowed, revealing another gateway.

The Pieces of Light then dimmed before returning to Sora who grabbed them gently as it stopped glowing all together. After putting them away, he returned to his seat and then piloted the Gummiship into the Gateway in full speed. Flying through it and blasting flying Heartless that attempted to make them crash, it wasn't long before they finally hovered to a stop just outside of what they saw was a very familiar world.

A huge Palace with a desert surrounding it, an ocean not far from it along with an island of rock. Sora, Donald, and Goofy even noticed palm trees and an Oaisis. Their eyes widened as they instantly recognized the place.

"It's Agrabah!" The trio exclaimed happily, meaning that they can see more old friends again. First was in Olympus, then in Twilight Town, and then in Radiant Garden.

"Gawrsh, I didn't know Agrabah had one of the Pieces of Light. A-yhuck!" Goofy thought, before saying as a thought came to mind. "Sure hope we don't run into Jafar again."

"Oh, of course not. Jafar's long gone!" Donald said, dismissively.

Sora nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we turned that guy into toast, remember? Plus, his lamp melted into goo. So other than the Heartless, and the Organization-I hope not but probably-there shouldn't be much to worry about, right?"

Suddenly, a pink sparkly puff of smoke appeared in front of him and caused Sora to jump in fright and alarmed Donald and Goofy. When it cleared, it revealed some sort of scroll which floated in mid-air, glittering in golden light as though waiting to be taken.

"Huh? What's this?" The Spiky-haired teen muttered, puzzled. Finding himself curious, he picked it up which made the glowing stop before he unrolled it and read what was written as Donald and Goofy approached, also curious. To their surprise, it had a royal seal as well as being decorated in a wedding theme drawing around the words.

_"To Sora, Donald and Goofy._

_You are humbly invited to the grand royal wedding of Aladdin and Princess Jasmine at the Royal Palace of Agrabah, in wishes to see you again and in gratitude in saving the Kingdom._

_The soon to be newly weds, as well as the lovable Genie(that's me writing, by the way), the amazing Abu cannot wait to see you again._

_Oh, and Iago too, of course._

_Meet you either at the Palace or, if Al's being a teeny bit nervous, his old home._

_-Genie."_

"A wedding!?" The trio exclaimed excitedly. Now this was something they don't get to see every day. Let alone even get invited. And what a great time for Genie to deliver it to them just as they were outside of his world and about to enter it during their quest too? Not only that, Aladdin and Jasmine were finally getting married.

"I'm so happy for Aladdin and Jasmine!" Goofy cheered.

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! I love weddings!" Donald jumped up and down in excitement. The last wedding he'd been to was when King Mickey got married to Queen Minnie years ago.

"This sounds like fun! I can't believe they're getting married!" Sora exclaimed, excitement surging up. He turned to his friends and told them eagerly, "Guys, we have _so_ gotta attend! I don't wanna miss out on this!"

Though just as Donald was about to agree, he then realized something and pointed out. "Awk! But Sora, we need to find a wedding gift."

"Gawrsh, he's right. We can't go to the weddin' without givin' Aladdin and Jasmine a gift. It's wedding decision." Goofy agreed, though he got the last part wrong.

"Tradition!" Donald corrected, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

That was true, and while Sora might not know much about love, even he knew how weddings went, or how else do you explain his own parents? Still, at the moment the group was stuck because at the moment, they had nothing. So Sora, Donald and Goofy thought long and hard, humming loudly while they each tried to come up with any sort of ideas on what to bring to the wedding at the last short notice.

It wasn't until Sora had at least one idea and perked up as a memory came back to him. "I've got it!"

That exclaim made the others jump, while Sora dug into his pockets and pulled out a familiar star-shaped tropical fruit as he said, gazing at it with a smile. "The Papou Fruit!"

"Wasn't that from your home, Sora?" Goofy asked, curiously. He'd seen the fruit before, but never really thought of what it meant or how it tasted.

"Yeah. There's a legend everybody on the islands know of. Riku told me once that if two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what." The teenage boy explained.

Though Sora still didn't get why Riku said that the former wanted to try it, though he might have a slightest idea now despite that he no idea why he was thinking about Kairi about this either, Donald and Goofy shared a glance and, knowing that even Riku had noticed that Sora saw Kairi more than just a friend, snickered in amusement.

"So if Aladdin and Jasmine share the fruit, their hearts will become even more intertwined." Goofy theoried, and Sora nodded with a bright smile. "I think that's a perfect gift, Sora."

"You said it!" Donald agreed.

Sora chuckled, and carefully put away the fruit before standing up, fiddling with the controls. "Well, we'd better get going. Wouldn't wanna be late for the wedding."

His two companions nodded just as they and Sora were teleported out of the Gummiship and into somewhere close in Agrabah, not only attend the wedding, but also to find the fifth Piece of Light. Although, neither of them or anyone in the Palace were fully aware that things were not going to go as smoothly as they thought.

* * *

The Kingdom of Agrabah was blistering with life, as guests were coming from all different kingdoms around the world and even almost everyone in the Kingdom itself, to attend the Wedding of the Century. One that no one would want to miss. However, in the midst of preparing for Princess Jasmine, the next in line for the royal throne, to marry her true love Aladdin, no one even noticed that something was about to happen. In the stables were Elephants, horses and Camels were resting, a man in blue robes with a mask over his mouth was leading a herd of Camels that were carrying baskets.

His name is Cassim, the leader of the Forty Thieves, and he came to Agrabah for only one purpose; to steal an item he had been searching for, for a long, long time.

Yet one of the baskets was then ripped open by a pair of golden claws, which were part of a knuckleduster belonging to a tall, muscular man with grey skin, wearing a black vest and dark pants and shoes, having a black mustache. He pulled himself out and dusted himself off in sheer annoyance for having been stuck in there for hours on end.

He is named Sa'luk, Cassim's Second in Command, but also arch rival.

"Why do you walk in the open while _I_ suffocate like an animal?" The taller man grunted, standing behind Cassim who brushed him off.

"Someone has to keep a cool head, Sa'luk." The other man replied, having no time for an argument.

"Someone will have _no head_ if this turns out to be another wild goose chase." Sa'luk growled, baring his claws warningly.

"The Oracle is the real thing." Cassim reassured, gazing at the Wedding Pavilion with narrowed eyes. "This time I'm sure."

* * *

By the time Sora, Donald and Goofy descended from the Gummiship in an abandoned building which was perfect for them to emerge without suspicion, when they walked out of the doorway with a curtain being the only door, they were stunned to see that the streets were packed. So many people, with royal and/or expensive attires, riding on Camels and Elephants or simply walking or having royal carries carry them on...those carry things that Sora wasn't certain of the name of.

"Whoa! It's a good thing we came when we did. The streets are packed!" Sora remarked at the sight of the moving crowd.

"I agree, young fellow." An old man's voice muttered next to the trio, who turned to see an old man wearing suspiciously familiar blue pants and red shoes, carrying a heavy sack on his back which made him bend over. "In all my years, never have I seen the streets so full of bustle and hustle and assorted commotion."

"You mean you don't know what's going on, Mr.?" Donald asked, a little bit surprised.

"There's a royal wedding going on." Sora added, confused as well.

"Ooooh! Wonderful!" The old man said excitedly. "And who is the lucky prince the Princess is marrying?"

"Gawrsh, it's our old friend Aladdin. We helped him to save Agrabah from that mean Jafar." Goofy replied, with both Sora and Donald nodding to confirm it.

To their surprise, the peddler magically disappeared and revealing himself to be none other than Genie who exclaimed happily and energetically. "Exactly! Along with the amazing trio such as yourselves, Aladdin is the Prince in everybody's eyes, the hero of Agrabah! The conjourer of that foul ex-vizer Jafar!"

"Genie!" Sora, Donald and Goofy exclaimed happily as they recognized the magical blue being.

"Sora! Donald! And Goofy! I knew you would come!" Genie exclaimed happily back, pulling the trio into a big hug, which was a little bit too tight which made them grunt uncomfortably. "Oh, Al' and Jas' are gonna be thrilled to see you! It's been way too long!"

Thankfully, he gently let them go as they sighed in relief, while he admitted. "Though you came a lot faster than I thought. Working up on rocket fuel or something?"

"Uh...I guess you could say that. We only just got the invitation about ten minutes ago." Sora replied, a bit awkwardly. "Say, is Aladdin already at the Palace?"

"Well, actually, no. I think Al's a bit nervous since he's not at the Palace. I was just about to check his old Hovel when you three suddenly showed up." Genie explained, shrugging.

"Why would he be nervous on his big day?"

"Gee, Sora. It's normal for the groom to be nervous on their wedding day." Goofy whispered to his younger friend. "King Mickey was pretty nervous when he was gonna marry Queen Minnie."

Sora's eyes lit up in surprise. He never would've thought that King Mickey Mouse would have been nervous at his own wedding. Then again, there were still a lot of things he didn't know about him. Or maybe he was still gulliable when it came to romance. Partly, at least.

Deciding to worry about that later, Sora then looked at Genie and offered. "Well then, let us help you out to find him. He can't be late at his own wedding, right?"

"I was just about to ask if you could." Genie replied. "You just read my mind, kid."

"Okay. Let's go!" Sora declared, and Donald, Goofy and Genie nodded before they ventured off to find the hovel.

* * *

It wasn't long before Sora, Donald, Goofy and Genie arrived at the Hovel, and found that Aladdin and the little monkey Abu, along with the Magic Carpet, had been lingering not for long. Genie decided to enlarge himself to greet them via the hole. The former Street Rat was dressed differently compared to the last time they saw him; he was wearing a long-sleeved grey shirt, a navy vest with gold lining, blue puffy pants, a brown belt and brown pointy shoes.

He was kneeling down on the floor and pulled out some sort of box and blew dust off it. Abu was still the same as ever, and even he was puzzled on what his best friend was doing with the box. Though before Sora's group could make their presence known, Genie peered through.

"Hello?" The blue magical being greeted, which scared Abu who screeched and hid behind Aladdin who turned, as Genie declared. "Somebody's gonna be late for his own wedding!"

"He's right, you know." Sora chuckled, finally making himself and the others known as they approached. Aladdin and Abu turned to see them and smiled, the former standing up and set the box down for the time being.

"Sora! Donald! Goofy!" The young man greeted happily, shaking hands with the trio who returned it. "I didn't think you guys could make it!"

"Hey there, Al'! It's great to see you! And congrats to you and Jasmine!" Sora replied happily. Donald and Goofy both nodded in agreement.

"Thanks. Hope there wasn't any trouble when Genie sent out the invitation. Jasmine and I wished you'd be here and even though I thought you wouldn't come since, well, you know, but then he insisted that you'd be here on time." Aladdin said.

"Well, actually, we only just got the invitation on our way here. You know, Heartless and stuff, as usual." Sora admitted, before quickly adding with a bright smile. "But there's no way in a million years we'd miss your wedding!"

"But don't ya' think you should hurry? Jasmine's waitin' for ya." Goofy asked.

"Hold on, guys. There's something I need." Aladdin smiled at them, reaching for the box once more and opened it, revealing a small, carved dagger inside. It had a sheath that was royal blue, and the handle had a golden handprint on it. "This is for the wedding."

"Whoa..." Sora murmured as he, Donald, Goofy and even Genie who shrank to normal size, gazed at it in awe and curiosity. "Where'd you get that cool dagger?"

"It belonged to my father." Aladdin explained with a sigh.

"Your father?" Donald asked, surprised. This was the first time Aladdin had ever mentioned anything about his parents. Even to Genie who looked just surprised.

"Oh my goodness! I didn't think about your father! I have to let the the caterer know!" Genie exclaimed, before magically turning himself into a fancy caterer holding a note pad and a pen. "Chicken or Sea-Bass, sir?"

Aladdin shook his head sadly. "He's not coming to the wedding. He died a long time ago."

Genie flinched while turning back to normal, slightly guilty for having not paid attention or even realize this. Even Sora, Donald, and Goofy felt guilty and felt sympathy for their friend. They'd known that, given how he was without parents and with Abu, Carpet and Genie when they first met him, that he was an orphan. But neither of them thought it was that long ago.

"Sorry." Genie muttered.

"Sorry, Aladdin. None of us knew." Sora added, feeling guilty.

"It's okay. I never knew him." Aladdin replied, placing the dagger into his sash. "Maybe if I did, I'd feel ready for this."

Goofy looked at him worriedly. "You're really are nervous, aren't ya?"

"You're not getting cold feet, are ya, Al?" Genie asked, turning into warm, fluffy slippers over Aladdin's brown shoes.

"Of course not. I love Jasmine and I'd never turn away from her." Aladdin shook his head, before admitting as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's just...I've always been a street rat. Stealing what I need to survive, runnin' from the guards..."

"Uh-huh." Abu squeaked with a nod.

"Livin' my my life alone." Aladdin continued, which made the little monkey give a sad moan and approached him. The young man smiled sadly as he petted his little, furry friend he'd known for a long time. "I'm taking a big step today into a new world."

Suddenly, a white hold fashioned mobile phone appeared in mid-air, with Genie speaking through it via wearing headphones and talking through a microphone as he said. "Today's topic: _"Fears of the future family man."_ Al from Agrabah. Share with us."

"I never had a father to show me how to raise a family." Aladdin replied.

"No way. You're serious?" Sora muttered, a little bit shocked. Both Donald and Goofy shared a concerned glance.

"No role model?" Genie asked, slumping low. "Get a little deeper."

"What do I know about families?" Aladdin shrugged, as Genie once again returned to normal. "What if I'm no good at it? If my father were here..."

Genie pulled his friend into a comforting hug as he reassured him. "Al, Little Buddy, if your father were here, he'd be as proud of you as I am."

"Yeah, same with us too." Sora nodded in agreement with a warm smile, placing a hand onto his older friend's shoulder. "I bet your dad would be really happy to see you all grown up and being so great for Jasmine. You really came a long way."

"It's not easy looking after kids, but you'll be great with your own someday, as long as you love them just like you love Jasmine. Like I do for Daisy and my nephews." Donald added supportingly.

"A-yhuck. It doesn't take a lot to be a great parent. As long as you love 'em and protect them, you've done a great job! I ain't no parent, but I know that my dad always did." Goofy concluded with a smile.

Aladdin smiled. "Thanks, guys. I promise I won't let Jasmine down. I just wish he could be here to see this."

"Well, we'd better get you over to the Palace. You still got a wedding to attend! Can't be late!" Sora declared, and Aladdin nodded in agreement.

"Allow me to handle the Wedding wardrobe! Oh, and we'd better get you three into your invitation clothes too!" Genie announced, and with a a thrust of his arms and cheering, four magical pink orbs flew and covered the clothes of Aladdin, Sora, Donald and Goofy, the latter three slightly startled by the sudden transformation.

When the lights faded, Aladdin was dressed in white and gold arabian groom clothes that resembled to that when he dressed up as Prince Ali. Even Abu had undergone a transformation, wearing a purple and white striped hat and vest. Sora wore another version of Aladdin's outfit, with a red and black vest with no cape, but red pants and black pointy shoes with golden lining, red hat with a white feather and red gem. His crown-chained necklace remained.

Donald was wearing a similar outfit, except his was blue and yellow and looked a bit like Jafar's outfit, but again with now cape, and the feather on his turban was yellow with a blue gem. Finally, Goofy's was a mixture of Aladdin's prince outfit and Jafar's outfit; his shirt was white with green lining, brown shoes with a green feather and orange gem.

"Awesome! Thanks, Genie!" Sora proclaimed in excitement.

"Anyway time, loyal guests!" Genie smiled, magically putting on royal clothes himself. "Now lets head onward to the party!"

The groom and the travelers nodded in agreement, before they and Abu all hopped onto Carpet who was waiting for them, and soon they and Genie flew out of the hovel and headed straight towards the Palace for the wedding.

Unaware that it was about to be in real big trouble.

* * *

**A/N: Thus ends the Dwarf Woodlands arc, and begins the Aladdin and the King of Thieves story arc! I'd like to once again thank the guest review who came up with the idea of the invitation thing. That helped out a lot for Agrabah in this story!**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	44. Chapter 43: Heartless and Forty Thieves!

**Author's note: Thanks for the awesome reviews, guys! I've been wanting to get to Agrabah in this story for ages. I'll do my best with it, and to Gry23, I've been meaning to do "Sailor Dark Moon and the King of Thieves" but, well, it's kind of complicated, but I'll try and get around to it.**

**So, let's continue onward through the lovable world, as "Aladdin and the King of Thieves" was the last full time we got to hear our beloved and late Robin Williams to voice Genie and five years on, we still miss him and always will.**

**R.I.P Robin Williams. I hope you're doing okay in the Afterlife.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 43: Heartless and Forty Thieves!

Not long after they left the Hovel, Carpet dropped Sora, Donald and Goofy at the entrance of the Palace near the Wedding Pavillion where other guests were still making their way through while Aladdin went up ahead to get ready and wait for his bride. Never having been inside the Palace walls before, the traveling trio were amazed by the beautiful green gardens and grass, the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. Even the Pavillion itself was amazing, a combination of being inside as well as outside.

"Whoa!" Sora breathed in awe.

"Wow!" Donald and Goofy both chorused.

"This is so cool!" The spiky haired teen exclaimed, grinning widely.

Goofy then noticed that, in the process of being taken to this area, that their magical friend wasn't around. "Hey, where's Genie?"

Neither of them needed to be worried, because suddenly they heard a fanfare which nearly startled them out of their skin and the next thing Sora, Donald and Goofy saw were...multiple Genies with a video camera and stuff, and Genie himself dressed up in modern clothes with a mircophone in hand, having turned himself into a News Reporter, which Sora had no idea of.

"_Hello, and welcome to _"Lifestyles of the Rich, Heroic and Magical!"_ That's right; we're taking you to the marriage of a millennium._" Genie reported, and then had the 'camera' turn to the confused trio, continuing. "_And who's this brave and heroic trio? Oh! It's Sora, Donald and Goofy, three of the four fabulous saviors of Agrabah and loyal companions of the Groom himself!_"

He then went over to Sora, and held the microphone to his face, asked. "Mind if we have a word with you, young man? Are you excited to be here for the biggest wedding in thousands of years?"

"Uh, y-yeah, I sure am." Sora replied, awkwardly.

"And what kind of special gift do you have for the lovely soon to be newly weds?"

"Well, we have something that's so special that it'll bring Aladdin and Princess Jasmine closer than ever. It's a surprise."

"A surprise, eh? I cannot wait to see the big reveal!" Genie exclaimed happily, then turned back to the 'camera' and concluded. "_Once again, this whole broadcast has been brought to you by _"Sand. It's everywhere." _Get used to it!_"

* * *

After the silly moment with Genie, Sora, Donald and Goofy finally entered the Pavilion where the other guests were presenting their gifts onto the gift table, which was filled with everything in gold; Coins, loots, golden vases, goblets, statues, jewels, necklaces, all that sort of stuff. At the head of the table was a familiar red parrot who was practically drooling over the stuff, and at the moment, Donald was eying the items in the same fashion.

"Wow..." The Mage murmured, his eyes sparkling with growing greed.

Apparently Sora nodded, because he folded his arms and gazed at his feather friend disapprovingly, clearing his throat which snapped Donald out of his trance. "_Ahem..._We're here to give away stuff at a wedding, you know."

Though Sora only meant to say that to Donald, the parrot, Iago, jumped and spun around, holdings his wings up in surrender. "I wasn't taking anything, I swear! Just looking and uh...making sure none of the presents are stolen! Please don't throw me into the dungeon!"

"Easy for you to say." Donald glared at him, annoyed. Which made Iago realize who he was talking to and sighed in half relief.

"Oh, phew! It's you guys." Iago wiped sweat from his head. "I thought you were the royal guards thinking I was doing something bad."

"Well, I hope you've been on your best behavior, Iago." Sora replied, scoldingly and Donald and Goofy both nodded in agreement.

The parrot scoffed, "Of course I have! Honest, I've only been peeking through the royal treasure once, and been safe-guarding the presents! I'm surprised you guys came today, though."

"Gawrsh, we only got the invitation a little while ago and we couldn't miss it." Goofy explained.

"...That mean you didn't have time to go Wedding gift shopping?" Iago whispered.

Sora sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Well, no. But that doesn't meant we came empty handed. We brought the perfect gift for Aladdin and Jasmine."

Before Iago could ask any further, the teenager pulled out the Papou Fruit and gazed at it, before carefully setting it onto the growing pile of wedding gifts. Sora, Donald and Goofy all smiled approvingly while their parrot friend, dumbfounded, confused and curious about the star shaped fruit, took a closer look at it.

"And what do we have here?" Iago asked.

"Papou Fruit." Sora replied, "There's a legend that will intertwine people's hearts and when two of them share it, they become part of each other's lives. No matter what."

"Not that I'm into all the mushy stuff and the wedding is gonna bring Al' and Jas' together forever anyways, I think they'll like this more than the other shiny things." Iago admitted.

"I hope so. We came at the short notice." The Keyblade Wielder shrugged.

"Where's the wedding at anyway?" Goofy asked, curiously.

"Oh, that's easy. It's through those doors up ahead. The Sultan's gonna be there too." Iago replied, pointing down the hallway which had two large doors that were open as the guests were still piling in.

The Sultan? Jasmine's father? Now that was a person the trio had yet to meet for real. A little bit nervous to meet the higher ruler of Agrabah before Jasmine and Aladdin would assume the throne, Sora and Goofy both thanked Iago and began to head over to the doors when they noticed Donald once again staring at the pile of treasure. Rolling their eyes, the duo approached him and grabbed him by the arms before pulling the now struggling duck with them.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Donald demanded.

"C'mon, Donald. We're gonna be late." Sora ordered him, as he and Goofy ignored his protests. Sometimes, Donald had no self control when it came to treasure.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the streets of Agrabah as the rest of the guests had already gone inside, Maleficent and Pete, in their search for the Book of Prophecies, were walking to secretly search the Palace as well as locate Sora to steal the Keys he has been collecting as well as find and abduct King Mickey and force him to reveal the location of their prize. Though just as they were passing the vandors and stands, the sounds of someone teleporting in made them stop and turn around, as the black mists revealed not only Saix, but also the still hooded Xion.

"Are are still attempting to interfere with your foolishness?" The blue-haired man questioned, recognizing the two from the World that Never Was before his first untimely demise by Sora's group a year earlier.

"That is none of either of your concerns." Maleficent replied, darkly.

"Whatever it is you are looking for, you won't find it here." Xion emotionlessly stated.

The evil Witch smiled cruely, as she pointed out to the smallest of the people in the black coats. "Why, you are clearly mistaken, child. It would seem neither of you know what you are looking for."

"Oh, we know what we're looking for. However, it is none of your concern. I strongly advise you to stay out of the way. Really, you should know better by now than to interfere with our goals, Maleficent." Saix scoffed, smirking secretly. Without waiting for a response, he turned to the girl next to him and ordered her coldly. "You know what to do."

Despite that neither of them knew this wasn't the first time they were part of the Organization, nor did Xion know or possibly remember everything, she robotically nodded and teleported away to begin her next assignment. Saix in the meantime gazed at the two villains once more.

"As said, you will not find what you're looking for here. Not even Jafar will help you, as he has been cast into the deepest abyss of the darkness." The blue-haired man said once more, before teleporting away himself to continue his assignments, leaving Maleficent and the bewildered Pete behind.

"I've seen that blue-haired nitwit before, but who was that hooded kid?" Pete remarked, suspiciously. "She was actin' like a robot or somethin'."

Maleficent just smiled cruely. "It is clear that those Organization fools are seeking what we seek; the Book of Prophecies. They know it is either here or there is a clue other than those keys Sora and his friends have that will lead us to it. As for the girl...she is nothing more than a puppet. One that could be quite useful if we...aqquire her."

Indeed...Xion could be useful if Maleficent can manage to get her from Organization XIII.

* * *

Back at the stables, Cassim and Sa'luk saw the last of the guests head into the Pavilion before the former knew that now was a good time to make preparations. He walked over to the baskets while ordering his Second in Command. "You distract the guards."

"Part of your plan?" The taller man sneered darkly.

"The large part." Cassim confirmed, gently patting the trunk of an elephant. He then tapped one of the baskets and murmured to someone inside. "It's time."

Soon enough, around 38 men emerged from the baskets one by one; from a fat bandit, to a man with two swords, a martial artist, a man with rope, and many, many others. With both Cassim and Sa'luk added, that counted forty thieves all together. And they were going to strike at the Wedding and steal whatever loot there was.

* * *

Donald eventually(and grudgingly) settled down and stood beside Sora and Goofy among the other guests at the wedding at the front row. They saw Aladdin stand at the altar and looking decidingly nervous, but they knew he wouldn't back down now. Especially since he was about to marry Jasmine, his true love and one of the Princesses of Heart.

Or rather, as the trio silently reminded themselves, former Princess of Heart since, while neither of them were certain how she and others like Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, Alice and Aurora did it, passed on her powers to one of the six new Seven Lights, and Kairi being the only one not having done so, therefore she was one of the new Seven. Still, the Princess of Agrabah was still their friend, and that won't change.

Genie, back in his royal attire, stood in front of the doors at the end of the aisle and blew a golden horn to announce that the Wedding was about to begin. He then vanished and two bridesmaids in purple dresses, walked down the aisle and sprinkling flowers from the baskets. They were followed by a young boy holding up a flag, and four royal guards in black, white, and red, carrying a throne with a short, regally and royal man in white and blue, and a white beard, meaning that he was the Sultan.

The guests, including Sora(who caught on a second late), Donald and Goofy all bowed to Royal Ruler with choruses of "Your Majesty" and "Your Highness" all around. The Sultan smiled, and even chuckled when Abu waved at him excitedly after Carpet clapped enthusiastically. He waved back at the Monkey with a bright smile.

After the Sultan arrived at the Alter and was set down to walk over to his future son-in-law, Aladdin bowed respectfully to him.

"Don't look so solemn boy, this is a happy day." The older man chuckled, gently nudging him with his elbow. He knew what was like, but the Sultan wanted Aladdin to relax.

Everyone then turned their attention to the end of the aisle once more and noticed a pair of peacocks standing in front of it, before their feathers contracted and revealed the very familiar and beautiful raven-haired Princess herself. Jasmine, in her most stunning, white and gold wedding gown and a veil that flowed behind her.

"Whoa..." Sora whispered, his eyes widening. He was unable to believe just how amazing Jasmine looked.

"She's beautiful." Goofy whispered in amazement.

"Wow..." Donald murmured in awe.

Jasmine smiled as she walked down the aisle and even noticed Sora, Donald and Goofy who once again bowed with bright smiles and she smiled wider, surprised and happy to see that they had actually made it given that she too was aware of Genie inviting them. In no time reached the alter, bowing to her father who looked emotional and the two shared a hug. She and Aladdin, with loving eyes for each other, smiled warmly in pure happiness as the ceremony was going very smoothly. The groom and bridge then held each other's hands and walked up the Pavilion while everyone watched with bright and emotional smiles.

"They look even more happy than ever." Sora remarked, smiling widely. He was so glad that Aladdin and Jasmine were finally going to have their happily ever after, and nothing could possibly go wrong for either of them.

"I-I love moments like this..." Goofy softly cried happily, wiping away tears of joy and sniffling. Donald was in the same vote, and blew his nose on a handkerchief.

"Me too...it's...so magical...I'm not crying...Not crying..." Genie sniffled, and then bawled his eyes out and blew his noise loudly on Carpet, only to realize too late and let the wet magical rug go, cringing sheepishly. "Whoops. Sorry."

By then, Aladdin and Jasmine reached the top of the pavilion and smiled at each other as the former said, "Well, we're here."

"Together forever." Jasmine agreed, and the crowd all smiled warmly.

But as Sora was happily watching two of his friends marry right before his eyes, he suddenly felt a painful and shockingly familiar jolt in his heart and he tried not to wince. He placed his hand to his chest and shut his eyes to try and will the pain to ease as he felt the hearts react inside his own; the hearts of Ventus, Roxas and Xion. Though Sora had no idea which one was reacting and his vision darkened for a second.

_"Sora...! Watch out!"_

'_Xion?_' Sora thought, the pain suddenly easing as he opened his eyes, panting silently. That was Xion's heart trying to communicate with him again? But if that's the case, did that mean...? Did that mean Roxas was reacting too?

Before he could ponder further at this, a loud trumpeting was heard and was quickly followed by the ground beginning to rumble and shake the room. Everyone glanced around in alarm, wondering what was going on. They then heard more trumpeting and when they all spun around, everyone's eyes widened as they saw a herd of stomping Elephants who's eyes were all red in danger.

"STAMPEDE!" Goofy and Genie both chorused, the latter having turned himself into a cowboy, as the Elephants crushed through the pillars of the pavilion on a rampage, forcing most of the guests to run and scatter in fear while trying to avoid in being stomped or crushed. Sora, Donald and Goofy had to jump and run out of the way themselves.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?" Iago exclaimed at the gift table that shook during the crisis. He quickly caught a falling gold present from crashing, and even caught the Papou Fruit that Sora set among the gifts as well.

Abu was about to be crushed by an Elephant when Genie quickly swooped him up just in time. "Come out, Monkey-boy! You were almost Dumbo Toe jam."

To their shock, however, Carpet was trampled on and laid flat on the floor. Genie quickly set Abu down to a safer place and poofed to the magical Carpet, exclaiming hysterically, "OH! They trampled the Carpet!"

Then, realizing what he said, he muttered. "That's a little redundant." He then asked Carpet who got up and wobbled a bit. "So this isn't really a bad day for you, is it?"

In the meantime, one of the Elephants was approaching the altar where Jasmine and Aladdin where. The latter quickly shoved the former and himself off the pavilion just as the Elephant smashed it with it's trunk. Sora gasped and hurried along with Donald and Goofy to see if their friends were okay, only to be blocked off by Arabian Bandit Heartless, Fat Bandit Heartless, and the Fortuneteller Heartless.

"Back off!" Sora snapped, quickly summoning the Kingdom Key while Donald summoned his Staff and Goofy summoned his Shield. The trio then quickly took action and charged, and the Heartless did the same. Just then, Aladdin, after telling Jasmine to stay with her father despite her protests, hurried over while taking off his over coat and brought out his sword.

"Sora! Let's do this together!" The groom declared. Sora nodded and stood ready with the former street rat.

Sora took on the Bandit and the Fat Bandit Heartless, clashing his Keyblade with the former Heartless's Sword and then slashing it into oblivion before dodge-rolling out of the way when the Fat Bandit Heartless charged to try and knock him over since it was an Arabian version of the Belly Heartless. Though as it blasted a flame thrower, the Keyblade Wielder used reflect to protect himself and cause the attack to hit the monster and a couple of the Fortuneteller Heartless instead, destroying them instantly.

As Sora made to finish off the Fat Bandit Heartless, Aladdin cut through a bunch of Heartless while clashing with them before calling out to him as he had an idea. Sora nodded and with his friend's help, the groom hauled him upward and the sixteen year old flipped over before tossing his Keyblade at his target's back. The weapon hit it twice and sending it crashing toward before returning to it's wielder. He then chanted Blizzaga to finish it off and after landing on the ground, continued to fight other Heartless.

Donald used his Fireworks Spell to take out the Fortuneteller and the Bandit Heartless just as he and the others then noticed the fleeing guests being forced back inside by, to their shock, a bunch of human bandits who held out each of their swords and daggers and such. The magican quickly then took out his monster opponents before casting Thunderaga at five thieves who were electrocuted to unconsciousness and preventing them from stealing from stunned and horrified guests.

In the meantime, Goofy whacked and smacked a normal Heartless that also appeared with his Shield, and quickly blocked a thief's sword when the man tried to slice him. But was knocked away by the Captain's weapon as Goofy then smacked the enemy right in the face with a loud clang, rendering him unconscious. By then as he continued to fight the Heartless and the growing number of thieves, the Royal Guards charged and joined in the battle despite that they were all seemingly out numbered, especially since the thieves were still managing to steal from some of the guests including their expensive earrings and jewerly, and even an old rich guy's beard for some reason.

* * *

Un-noticed by the fighters, Cassim had snuck to the gift table and was shoving things aside, looking for one particular item related to the Oracle.

"It must be here somewhere!" He muttered to himself as he searched as quickly as possible, only to narrowly dodge a plate being flung at his head.

"Meet your match, Zorro!" Iago growled, getting the man's attention. The Parrot, furious that all of the gifts were being stolen, was wielding a golden candle stick to use as a weapon despite that he wasn't much of a fighter. The Heartless were bad enough and he had hoped to never see those scary monsters again since Jafar's permanent demise, but the forty thieves was just beyond ridiculous.

"Good birdie." Cassim approached him, trying to play nice. "Polly want a little..."

"Say 'Cracker' and I'll let you have it on principle!" Iago angrily cut him off, and thrust and swished the candle stick to try and hit the thief, but missed and was soon captured and held in Cassim's grasp.

"You have a lot of spirit." The man admitted, as he yanked the candle stick from Iago's wings, and then stuffed the parrot into a blue and golden vase before adding in exasperation. "And a lot of mouth."

* * *

The pavilion was still facing the crisis of the Heartless and the Thieves and had transformed the Wedding Day into a War Zone. Sora, his friends, and the Guards fought long and hard against the enemies while Genie noticed the ceiling cracking and flew up to try and keep it in one piece, and surprisingly even Jasmine joined in despite both the Sultan and Aladdin's protests.

In fact, the Princess of Agrabah and former Princess of Heart tapped a thief's shoulder and he made the mistake to glance behind him, because the next thing that happened, she punched him squarely in the face, rendering him unconscious.

"_That_ was for ruining my wedding!" Jasmine growled angrily.

During this time, Sora and Aladdin ended up splitting up to continue to fight the enemies when the former, Donald and Goofy slashed away more Heartless before being approached by an unfamiliar light-grey skinned man; Sa'luk, who chuckled at them.

"Hey, this is a Wedding Ceremony! No thieves allowed!" Sora angrily scolded.

"And no uninvited guests either!" Goofy added, glaring at the thief.

"Go somewhere else!" Donald adding, ready to blast the man with his magic.

This only seemed to amuse Sa'luk as he bared his claws. "And what will puny little brats like you and your friends going to do, boy? Lock me up in a giant chest with that very unusual giant key in your hand? On the other hand, it does seem to look rather priceless. Hand it over, or your friends die!"

"Hand over the Keyblade!?" Goofy and Donald exclaimed in shock.

"No way! Besides, the Keyblade can't just be handed over to anyone and I'm not gonna give it to a creep like you!" Sora snarled. Sure he'd do anything to help his friends, but he knew that the Keyblade would never have this guy as it's master.

"Then I'll cut your hands off and take it myself!" The apparent leader growled, and thrust his claws to strike Sora. To his shock, however, the teenager was quicker and held up the Keyblade to block his attack. Though Sora found that this guy had strong strength, he refused to back down and grunted as he forced himself to push the enemy back even as Sa'luk was close to overpowering him.

Fortunately, Goofy came to the rescue by whacking Sa'luk in the head, catching him off-guard and forcing the larger man to stumble back before being blasted away by Donald's Wind Spell and having him knock over two other thieves who fell to the floor. Sora nodded his thanks to his friends before standing ready to fight just in case. Though they didn't need to worry, because they all saw a look of shock and fear on the three thieves' faces and a shadow looming over them.

"Freeze, sandbags! Don't make me use the other end!" Genie's voice boomed, causing Sora, Donald and Goofy to look and saw, to their relief and surprise, was their magical friend who grew into a giant and was holding a stunned Elephant. Genie then jocked the trunk like a gun and then squeezed the Elephant and air blew out of it's trunk like a blower.

While Sa'luk tried to stand his ground, the two other thieves looked comically shocked before they were blown away and soon he was blown away back himself, yelling in alarm and thrown out of the Pavilion. The Elephant in the meantime was deflated and exhausted, to which Genie gently and apologetically set it down aside while Sora, Donald and Goofy smiled in relief and praise at their friend.

"Nice one, Genie!" Sora praised.

"Thank you, kindly." Genie replied, shrunking to his normal size and took a bow.

Even though three more thieves were out of the way, the group knew that they still had more enemies to worry about, so they all quickly hurried back to help Aladdin and everyone else.

* * *

Outside and groaning after the hard and unexpected flight and crash landing, Sa'luk stood up and snarled in anger, with hints of darkness forming around his body before it faded. "Cassim said nothing about facing the powers of a Genie or a boy with a Key used as a sword!"

He then turned to the two battered thieves behind him and ordered. "Gather up the others and get out of here! We'll leave the King to his plans."

Sa'luk waited until the two thieves scurried off while he glared up at the Pavilion in pure anger, thinking about the boy with the Keyblade, as his two freaky friends had called it. Not only he wanted a particular treasure that Cassim told him earlier, but he so badly now wanted Sora's Key for himself. It was unusual and has to be priceless.

"Just you wait, boy. We will meet again...!" The grey-skinned man snarled, before turning and took his leave.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cassim was still searching on the Gift Table and even noticed Sora's Papou Fruit, stared at it for a moment before tossing it aside behind him as he had thought that whoever decided to give it to the Bridge and Groom was a very cheap and poor fool desperate to be invited and continued his search.

"Where is it?" The leader of the Forty Thieves grunted, until finally he spotted it; a golden scepter with a glittering green gem. "Ah! At last."

But as Cassim picked it up while grinning victoriously behind his mask, he was suddenly knocked over to the ground. When he looked up, he saw Aladdin who had plucked the staff and was now holding it.

"Can I see your invitation?" The younger man queried with a smirk.

"Stay out of my way, boy, so you won't get hurt!" Cassim growled, throwing a small golden statue at him. Aladdin quickly dodged, but was soon quickly pinned to the ground and the older man held him to the floor. "Fool! You don't stand a chance against the King of Thieves!"

But as he glared directly at the younger man's eyes, he was mentally shocked to see that...the boy somehow looked like a younger version of himself. Was it just a coincidence? Or...something else?

Aladdin however didn't give him the chance to think any further, because he growled back after kicking Cassim off him. "When I get up, I'll bow to you!"

The two then quickly fought, clashing swords before knocking each other's weapons away and then Cassim made to grab the Scepter from Aladdin who held a tight grip on it. As they struggled, the latter knocked into the vase which flew and crashed into the wall, freeing Iago who, dazed, wobbled away before screaming as another Elephant came crashing through the doorway. While the Parrot flew off to safety, Aladdin and Cassim, seeing this, decided to stop their fighting and rolled away, with the younger man in the possession of the Scepter.

While the Elephant stormed out of the Pavilion, Aladdin stood up and looked around, only to find that the man he was fightning had simply vanished. "Where's the King of Thieves?"

Cassim had secretly made his escape by clinging onto the Elephant until he was outside before hopping off and then glared at the ruined building in anger. It was thanks to that boy Aladdin that he once again failed to get his prize. But he wasn't giving up so easily. He was going to get that Oracle, by any means necessary.

"I'll see you again, boy." He growled, before running off to meet with the rest of the Forty Thieves. While he knew that he would see Aladdin again, neither of them knew that their next meeting will be different.

* * *

During the fight of Aladdin and Cassim, the gift table was left in shambles along with the discarded and some of the broken gifts that got ruined. Thankfully, the Papou Fruit was left unscathed, but it was picked up by a gloved hand which belonged to the hooded Xion who gazed at it thoughtfully.

"Why would Sora leave this behind?" The hooded girl thought to herself. There was something oddly familiar about it. But she didn't have time to ponder, because the sound of an Elephant coming made her decide to keep it as it seemed to be very important before tucking it into her pockets and then teleported away.

Having taken the Wedding Gift that Sora, Donald and Goofy intended on giving to Aladdin and Jasmine's now ruined Wedding.

* * *

Despite that all of the Heartless taken care off and the Forty Thieves driven away, the Pavilion was left him shambles and ruin, especially when the rest of the pillars shattered and crumbled. Genie cringed and looked side to side worriedly.

"This is not my fault! This was not built to code!" The blue being exclaimed, maintaining his innocence.

While the Sultan and the Guards were left to try and calm the panicked guests, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Aladdin, Jasmine, Genie, Abu, Carpet and Iago all met up in the gift room. Though as they did, the former trio looked around and, to their dismay, the Papou Fruit was missing.

"No way...!" Sora muttered in disbelief. "It's gone."

"What? What is?" Aladdin asked, concerned.

"The Wedding gift Donald, Goofy and I were gonna give you guys. The stupid Heartless or those thieves must've smashed it." Sora replied, guilt-ridden and disappointed.

"Gawrsh, it really is gone. I'll bet it musta been squished 'cause those thievin' fellers saw that it wasn't made of gold." Goofy murmured in sadness.

Donald moaned in sadness and disappointment. "That's just great."

"So much for the legend of the present." Iago grumbled, folding his arms as he perched himself onto the table, before sighing in sadness and devastation as he held up a broken piece of a golden vase. "Not to mention the lovely, shiny presents too."

"Can't you think of anything other than gold?" Genie rolled his eyes, annoyed. Abu crossed his arms in disappointment over the bird's passion for treasure.

"I'm sorry. I was really hoping to give you the perfect present, since it was the only thing we could come up with in a short time." The Spiky-Haired teen apologized, lowering his head in guilt.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Sora." Aladdin reassured his younger friend, placing a comforting hand on the teenager's shoulder. "It's the thought that counts, and having you guys here for our Wedding is more than enough. As far as reality goes, it's the Forty Thieves that ruined our special day."

"Aladdin's right." Jasmine agreed as she approached. "You have helped to save Agrabah before, so there's no need for you to really give us anything. I'm more happy that you came rather than you finding a gift for us. So, thank you."

Even though the trio still felt terrible for now having come empty handed, Sora did give a sad and grateful smile at the supposed newly weds. One thing was for certain, Aladdin was right. It was those thieves and the Heartless that ruined everything.

"But still, where the thieves really after the gifts?" The Princess thought as she gazed around the room.

"Not all of the gifts." Aladdin shook his head, holding up the scepter. "This is what the King of Thieves wanted."

"The King of Thieves?" Sora asked, puzzled. "Never heard of that name before."

Goofy tapped the side of his head, thinking. "Hmmm...I guess the feller with those scary claws isn't the leader after all."

"Then he must be the real leader's second in command!" Donald realized.

Sora nodded in agreement. "Right, and there's more of those guys than there are in Organization XIII, and they're just as rude in ruining a Wedding and stealing other people's stuff. Still, the King of Thieves guy and the other one must be what brought out the Heartless in the first place."

"I thought you guys stopped those black coated jerks by now." Iago pointed out as he then perched himself onto the green gem, before asking. "And with all the other great stuff, why go for this thing?"

Suddenly, the gem glowed in a bright light which startled everyone, forcing Aladdin to let go of the scepter as it hovered away while standing upright. Iago flew off and landed in Goofy's hands as everyone had to shield their eyes from the blinding light.

"_Your question is mine to answer!_" A woman's voice echoed from the staff. Once it stood in the middle of the room, a hologramic woman appeared, in pure white and gold and wearing a long sleeved robe. "_The King of Thieves sought my sight to find the Ultimate Treasure._"

"Whoa!" Sora, Donald, Goofy and Aladdin gasped in shock at the sight of the floating figure.

"Did somebody say treasure?" Iago beamed, his eyes litting up at the sound of this before hovering to the floor.

"Genie?" Aladdin queried to his magical friend, who had donned on a pair of sunglasses as he gazed at the floating, ghostly woman.

"Ooh!" Genie breathed. "Looks like an Oracle."

The woman, identified as the Oracle, said wisely. "_I see all that has been and all that will be._"

"You can see...what?" Sora muttered.

"She means she can see the past and the future." Goofy surprisingly translated.

Flustered and somewhat embarrassed, the spiky haired teen stuttered protestingly. "R-right! I knew that!"

"No, you didn't!" Donald pointed out, annoyed and knowing that Sora didn't know much of this kind of stuff. "Quit making stuff up!"

"Okay, you know all, so tell all." Iago by then approached the Oracle with a greedy glint in his eyes. "Where is the treasure? You know, the ultimate one."

"_I am bound by the rule of one; One question, one answer._" The Oracle shook her head, firmly.

"I only want one answer! Where, is, the, Ultimate, treasure?" Iago complained.

"_You have already asked your question._" She stated.

"You mean before?" The parrot asked, then he tried to point out. "Oh, that wasn't a question, that was uh, thinkin' out loud." He was then grabbed by Genie to make him stop.

"Very loud." The magical being groaned in annoyance, before letting go.

Jasmine found herself very curious and enthusiastic about all this, despite that she had passed on her Princess of Heart powers and title to someone else since her duty as one is over, but her duty as Princess of Agrabah and her life with Aladdin will always remain.

"Aladdin, we can learn anything. About our lives, our future." She told her future husband.

"_You have but to ask._" The Oracle nodded wisely.

"I know what my future is. My future is you." Aladdin told Jasmine with a smile, before it faded as he sighed and admitted. "But my past; it's a blank. My mother died when I was a little kid, and I never even knew my father. I don't even know where I come from."

"_Your question is your choice. But remember the rule of one. Choose carefully._" The Oracle advised.

"Oh, sure. She warns him about the one question thing." Iago grumbled, rolling his eyes. Donald nodded in agreement while holding his arms.

"Some help she is." The magican muttered under his breath.

"Gawrsh, fellers. Maybe she can help us know more 'bout the things we wanna know." Goofy whispered to Donald and Sora. "'Bout the Key to Return Hearts, our missin' friends and even how to stop Organization XIII."

Sora thought that this was amazing and, even though he was hesitant to learn about the future he and his friends were about to face when it came to the upcoming Keyblade War, maybe this could help them get a better idea, just like Goofy suggested. However, he also thought about Aqua, Roxas, Xion, Terra, and Namine. About his worries for Kairi and Lea's safeties. And how Riku and Mickey were doing. In fact, as he realized to himself, he was stumped.

He had so many questions, and he was only allowed to ask one, so he had to choose carefully, just like Aladdin had to do if he wanted to know more about his past.

"I don't think you can help me." Aladdin shook his head to the Oracle. "My past isn't just one question, it's a million questions."

"_Ah, but mere questions about your past can be answered by your father..._"

"My father?" The young man asked with wide eyes. What did this mean? He had thought all along that his father had died. Could it really be wrong...?

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Jasmine, Genie, Abu and Iago all silently gasped at this revelation as well, and to prove to Aladdin's thoughts, the Oracle created an image in front of her. It showed a man in his mid or late forties, with a strong resemblance to Aladdin, except for a few grey streaks in his hair and a beard. The younger man couldn't believe what, or rather, who he was seeing.

"My father is alive...?"

* * *

Stunned by the news that his father had been alive all this time, Aladdin calmed down before excusing himself and returned to his old Hovel, needing some time to think. Though it was hours ago and now the sun had began to set. Abu, Carpet, Sora, Donald, and Goofy, with the trio back in their normal clothes, waited outside and at the street, worried about their troubled friend. Though out of all of them, this seemed to bother Sora the most.

"Abu, Sora."

Nearly jumping out of their skin, the group turned to see Jasmine, who was wearing a brown cloak over her royal pink garments after she and Aladdin(who was wearing the same clothes he wore before the wedding) changed to be more comfortable, approaching them. "Where's Aladdin?"

"He's still in his Hovel." Goofy answered in concern, pointing upward.

Jasmine looked up to see Aladdin gaze out where he usually did, and then entered the building to talk to him herself, leaving the others behind a little bit longer, sharing a concerned glance.

"I hope Aladdin will be okay." Sora sighed, folding his arms. "He's been like this all afternoon."

"Oh, he'll be fine. He'll cheer up before you know it!" Donald reassured, even though deep down he was just as worried.

"Yeah, and Jasmine will cheer 'im up." Goofy added.

"Yeah, but...that's not what worries me." Sora stated, shaking his head. "Why would his dad leave him when he needed him the most? Or what if he was kidnapped a long time ago? Or..."

Realizing that he was only thinking up theories that still had no answers to, the spiky-haired teen groaned in frustration as he held his arms up in the air. "Ugh! None of this makes sense!"

Donald and Goofy could only gaze at their friend in worry, wondering why Sora was just as bothered as Aladdin was despite that they were also worried about their other friend too. Then again, it did leave them wondering how or why Aladdin's father left in the first place. Forceful separation, or abandonment? Or even a kidnapping? Or maybe it was an entirely different reason all together.

* * *

'_Maybe...maybe this is what Xion went through, but a bit more different. I wish there was something I could do to help._' Sora thought to himself, placing a hand to his chest where his heart, and the hearts of Xion herself, Roxas and Ventus were.

_Xion was gazing at the Orb in a large what room of Castle Oblivion, hoping to figure out who she really is. What she was seeing, however, made her horrified as she took a couple steps back, shocked beyond belief._

_"W-what? Then I...wasn't who I am...?" She stuttered..._

* * *

"Huh?" Sora blinked, stunned that he just saw another one of Xion's memories all of the sudden...and he hasn't even felt the painful jolt that triggered the memories belonging to the three hearts inside him this time. But that memory...what did she mean by, _'wasn't who she is'_?

"Sora?" Donald asked, as he and Goofy noticed this reaction.

"...Xion. Even she had trouble knowing who she was." Sora muttered, more to himself than to his friends. Though that still begged the question. Who exactly is she, and why did her past-self say that she is a puppet back in Arendalle? Did the Organization know? Well, considering that she is among their thirteen, they must know. Maybe Xehanort had memories of her stripped from everyone.

"Did you see another one of her memories?" Goofy asked as he and Donald approached him.

"Yeah. But, now that just gave me even more questions." Sora sighed. He then groaned and slumped low. "Why does everything have to be so complicated?"

A moment of silence, until the trio noticed Aladdin, Jasmine, Abu and Carpet, the latter two having gone up to join the former two, descending down towards them. Immediately Sora, Donald and Goofy approached.

"Hey, you doin' okay?" Sora immediately asked. Despite his other concerns, he quickly came to a decision that he had to wait to figure those out later and focus about the current situation.

"Yeah, I feel better now. Jasmine talked me into it. There's so much I want to know, even if it means I have to go." Aladdin replied with a nod.

Jasmine smiled, "You've the chance to learn, Aladdin. Our Wedding can wait, and I think it's worth a small delay."

"So you're gonna ask the Oracle where he could be?" Sora queried, relieved that the former street rat got a bit a knock on the head and came to his senses.

Aladdin nodded, then requested, "If I find out where he is, Sora, Donald, Goofy, could you come with me? I could use some help and support."

"What makes you think we're gonna refuse? Of course we'll help!" The spiky-haired teen replied eagerly, and his two companions nodded just as eager.

Thanking them, Aladdin and the others then all boarded Carpet and the flew back to the Palace and onto the balcony of Jasmine's bed chamber. After a bit of nervous moments, he stepped up towards the edge and held up the staff which it glowed once more and once again revealed the Oracle who floated in mid-air.

"_Have you chosen your question?_" She asked.

"I have." Aladdin answered.

"_Then ask._"

Hesitating a little, Aladdin then took up the courage to ask. "Where is my father?"

"_Follow the trail of the Forty Thieves._" The Oracle answered, pointing towards the desert in the desert at the far distance. "_Your father is trapped within their world._"

"Forty Thieves!?" Aladdin exclaimed softly in disbelief and great worry, and behind him Sora, Donald and Goofy exchanged just as worried expressions as they wondered how Aladdin's father ended up captured by the notorious criminals. "Is he hurt? How long has he been their prisoner?"

"_I am sorry. I can only answer one question._" The Oracle apologized, before she vanished back into the staff which floated back into Aladdin's hands.

Sora approached his troubled friend, and told him with determination. "We'll save him. Don't worry."

"You're right. I know we will." Aladdin nodded, just as determined to find and rescue his father. It will be risky, but he wasn't going to give up this chance to finally find and know his father, especially when he needed to be rescued.

Jasmine smiled, encouraging her fiancee. "Take as long as you need."

"I'll be back in time for our wedding. I promise." Aladdin smiled, pulling his future wife into an embrace. Sora, Donald and Goofy shared a nod of determination, knowing that this is Aladdin's chance to finally know more of his past.

Though what they didn't know was that there was more to the connection between Aladdin's father and the Forty Thieves than they even expected, and more so than what the Oracle had said.

* * *

**A/N: So the quest to find Aladdin's father has began. What will he learn on this adventure? And will Sora learn more about those he has to save and what awaits for all of them? Only time will tell.**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	45. Chapter 44: (Title too late yet again)

**Author's note: Okay, so maybe the last chapter wasn't as good as I thought. Sorry about that. I'll try and make it up for it.**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.**

* * *

Chapter 44: Lairs of Thieves and Nightmares.

A few hours later, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Aladdin, Abu and the reluctant and very terrified Iago rode on Carpet through out the desert, following the direction that the Oracle has directed them. Genie agreed to stay behind with Jasmine and the Sultan just in case the Heartless tried to attack again, though Sora's group weren't overly concerned about the Organization going after Jasmine since she was no longer their target, but it was still better to be safe than sorry. None the less, they had to awkwardly fight off Heartless themselves in mid-flight.

"I should've just stayed with the Genie." Iago complained, knowing that he'd been forced to come along for the rescue mission. "Manual labor beats danger any day."

"Oh, quit whining! You got picked for this!" Donald grumbled, already growing tired of the parrot's constant complaining. Sure Iago has done good in the past since ditching Jafar, but he was just as annoying as ever.

"Hey! You try the constant adventures with a bunch of bad guys since you three left!" Iago argued, glaring at the magican. "We had to handle Mirage, Mozenrath who I call "Jafar Jr", a crazy cleaning-freak inventor bad guy named Mechanicles, Imps, that sort of thing. I thought after the stuff that's happened two months ago that things woulda finally cooled down a little."(1)

Sora couldn't help but roll his eyes at this, and while he was surprised that Aladdin and everyone else had to deal with such problems in this world during his absence, the spiky haired teen kind of doubted it would've been difficult for him to handle. He kind of wished he'd known a lot sooner to help out, especially with some Mozenrath guy, who Iago dubbed him as 'Jafar Jr.' and wondered if he was just as powerful as the late evil Sorcerer. Besides that, he knew that Agrabah was not only in danger with the Heartless and Organization XIII again, but with Ourobos.

'_I just hope that thing doesn't attack when we have to fight Xehanort._' He thought to himself. Since hearing about the monster from Master Yen Sid, Sora had been worried that it would attack during the Keyblade War.

Or worse; it might attack when the final battle ends and then it would use everyone's exhaustion to it's advantage. Those were the Keyblade Wielder's current and biggest fears, though losing his friends was still on top of his greatest fears list.

While Sora had been thinking these thoughts, he and the others held on tight as Carpet flew down the cliff and hovered over the shore sidelines where a fresh trail of horse tracks that looked very, very recent. Like it was made even just by almost a minute ago.

"Good, the trail's still fresh." Aladdin said.

"And they're right in front of us." Sora pointed straight ahead, spotting a few thieves running around a cliff-side corner, which made their job in finding the criminals a hundred times more easier. Most of them nodded in agreement, and Carpet flew a bit faster to catch up to them.

"_Definitely_ should've stayed with the Genie." Iago whimpered in dismay, only to cry out in alarm when he and the others saw that they nearly crashed into all of the thieves had Carpet not skid to a stop. Especially when all of the thieving men had come a stop just on the shore of the ocean, overlooking the cliff walls an island on the other side of the water. Aladdin shushed his friends as Carpet silently back tracks before they all quickly hid back behind the cliff.

Aladdin sighed in relief after a close call, before saying to the group with a confident smile. "Well, they have nowhere to go. We have them trapped."

"We!?" Iago asked incredulously, bewildered while the others nodded in agreement with Aladdin, as they were ready to rescue Aladdin's father. The Parrot then pointed out to him. "They are _Forty Thieves!_ We are you, a kid with a giant key, a duck, a dog, a rug, a monkey, and me...Wait, don't count me."

"Hey, they ain't movin'." Goofy whispered, risking to peek around the cliff. Sora, Donald, Aladdin, Abu, and Iago did the same and found that he was right. All of the Forty Thieves were just standing there.

"What's with them?" Sora whispered, puzzled. The men just sat on their horses, without so much as moving. Until the man in blue in front of all of them moved a bit closer, and Aladdin realized that it was the one who he fought earlier during the crisis at the wedding. The King of Thieves, himself.

Cassim, along with his men being fully unaware that they were being followed, held up a hand and shouted loudly. "Open Sesame!"

What came next was a shock to Sora's group, because the water began to boil and form a line of orange and yellow, the ground began to shake and the ocean became rough and wild. Just then, a beam of light split through the rock before it spread through the water, lining up to the shore where everyone else was and then it split apart to form two walls of water, an opening into the wall and a new pathway created. Without a moment to lose, all of the Thieves rushed straight down the path and into what the heroes realized was the lair of the Forty Thieves.

"Let's move!" Aladdin exclaimed once all of the thieves were in side. He, Sora, Donald, Goofy and Abu hopped on while Iago clinged onto the back of Carpet for dear life, while the magical rug quickly flew towards the lair just as it began to close and the ocean walls crashing into each other and filled up behind them. Iago, Donald and Goofy were screaming along the way and panicking.

"Hold on, guys!" Sora shouted.

"We're not gonna make it!" Goofy screamed, fearing the worst as the opening slowly but also too quickly almost closed.

Fortunately, Carpet made it through just before the entrance closed right behind them, though it did end up crashing onto the ground, and accidentally tossing Sora, Aladdin, Goofy and Abu off and onto the ground hard. All of them groaned as Sora pushed himself up, on his hands and knees while shaking his head before looking up. His eyes widened in awe; it was like an ancient ruined city underground or inside a cave, with Arabian Statues and pillars, in gold and stone, with a thin layer of mist surrounding the collapsed and destroyed buildings.

"Whoa...!" The sixteen year old boy murmured in awe, just as Aladdin looked up and held an identical reaction to his younger friend.

"You can say that again, Sora. This place is incredible." The former Street Rat agreed, only for him and Sora to be tapped on the shoulder by Goofy. When the two of them and Abu turned to see what he was pointing at, Sora had trouble trying not to laugh, because both Donald and Iago not only had their eyes covered with their eyes, but their tails were firmly stuck between the two rocks of the entrance.

"Did we make it?" Donald quivered, unaware of this and not willing to look just yet.

"I'm too scared to look." Iago shuddered in a high-pitched whiny tone.

Both Goofy and Abu approached their two trapped friends and thought hard, before had an idea. The former grabbed Donald, while the latter grabbed Iago, and they pulled hard until with a good yank they went flying out and landed in a small pile. Though the two birds of the group saw that...their tail feathers were still stuck in the wall, leaving their tails bald. The two of them saw this and gave deadpan and very annoyed looks.

"Oh. This is attractive." The parrot remarked sarcastically, before he and Donald stormed over to the wall, yanking their feathers out before plonking them back into their rightful places.

"This is exasperating." Donald groaned, using his Curaga to help with the restoration process, while Sora gave a soft laugh and Aladdin just shook his head with a smile.

"Let's get moving. The sooner we find my father and save him from the Forty Thieves, the better." Aladdin informed the others who all nodded in agreement, except Iago who gulped in fear at the reminder of this.

The parrot then flew up and landed on Sora's shoulder, asking nervously. "Uh, is there any chance you and Donald can freeze the Forty Thieves into an ice-cube or something like that?"

"We'll be fine." Sora reassured. "We've fought 1,000 Heartless a long time ago."

Iago's jaw dropped. "Really?"

"Yeah! The three of us handled it all together!" Donald declared proudly, a little too loudly because the others quickly shushed him when his voice echoed through out the chamber. He smiled sheepishly when he realized this, and muttered softly. "Sorry."

"Besides, these guys are no where near as tough as Jafar was." The Spiky haired teen continued.

"You had to remind me, didn't you?" Iago groaned, rolling his eyes.

With that in mind, the group of seven ventured into the lair, passing by and walking up the stone ramps. Despite their attempts to remain quiet, Heartless appeared which forced those who can fight to defeat them without being alerted by the Forty Thieves. They followed the only path they could find and came across a towering statue of a golden minotaur head mounted to the wall. Donald paused and looked around nervously, as did Goofy, Abu and Iago...the parrot who bumped into the duck's leg which caused both to tumble and roll down another ramp and into a small river.

"Hey, watch it!" Donald snapped, glaring at Iago while standing up, shaking the water out of his feathers.

"You're the one who was holding up the traffic, pal. I want to get in, get out, and go home." Iago glared back, squeezing the water out of his feathers, before muttering fearfully. "Actually, I wouldn't mind skipping right to the go home..."

"Ah...Searching for a lost relative, are we?" A calm but cruel voice echoed behind them, causing the group to slow to a stop in their tracks, and turned around, only to see Saix appear with the same look as he always had. Sora, Donald and Goofy's eyes widened as they recognized him instantly, especially since the last time they saw him was in the World that Never Was, or in Donald and Goofy's case when they saved Mickey and Riku to help them and Lea to rescue Sora, the Realm of Sleep.

"Saix!" Sora hissed angrily, as he and his two companions, and even Aladdin who, not having met the blue haired man before but did recognize the black coat, stood in defense stances. Abu shrieked and hid behind Aladdin's shoulder, while Iago hidden himself behind Goofy.

"Uh oh...! Other than the black coat which isn't good news anyway, except maybe the kid's missing friend, that scary look with the scar on this guy's face just screams bad news already." Iago gulped, nervously.

Saix ignored the bird, and simply spoke to Sora. "You have come thus far to recover most of your power, but you are still falling behind of what you should be doing."

Sora just scoffed at the remark. "Like you're the one to talk! I can't believe you let Xehanort get to you just when Axel had been looking for you!"

"What makes you think of that? You know more than anyone that he has intended to look for a way to bring back Roxas; a foolish accomplishment that can never be made reality. Unless you wish to sacrifice yourself once more to make his wish come true." The Nobody pointed out.

He didn't let Sora let out remark of his own, because he turned his attention to Aladdin and continued, "The same way you are foolishly walking right into a truth much colder than you think."

"What are you talking about? I'm here to look for my father and save him from the Forty Thieves. You can't talk like that!" Aladdin snapped.

"You are just as clueless as Sora, Street Rat. Have you ever considered why he left you, and how he came to be with the Forty Thieves? It is not a kidnapping as you think it is."

"Leave Aladdin and his dad out of this!" Sora interjected angrily. "Besides, what do you know? As if you can see the past!"

The blue haired man smirked a little. "I don't need to. All your friend has to do is see for himself. However..."

Snapping his fingers, the ground rumbled which forced Sora, Donald and Goofy to stumble forward a bit just as a stone wall suddenly rose behind them and forced Aladdin, Abu, Carpet and Iago who screamed in alarm to back up and were now blocked off from their friends, and reached up to the ceiling. The trio spun around and were dismayed by the sudden separation, realizing that they had fallen into yet another trap.

"Aladdin! Abu! Iago!" Sora cried out, as he, Donald and Goofy tried to push the wall as hard as they could, but found that it was too thick. They then tried punching it and using their weapons, but it was no use.

"Sora! Are you guys okay?" Aladdin called from the other side, as he and the others with him tried to do the same thing, but couldn't.

"Yeah, we're fine." Sora called back, and while he wished he could break through these calls, it's apparent that Saix did something to it which made it impossible. Plus they couldn't risk in causing a cave-in. So there was no other choice left. "You have to go on ahead and find your dad."

"No! I'm not leaving you behind!" His friend protested.

"We'll catch up to you! I promise!"

The former Street Rat clenched his teeth. He really didn't want to go on without Sora, Donald and Goofy, not when they came to see him marry Jasmine. Aladdin blamed himself for this mess. He never should've asked them to come along if he'd known this 'Saix' guy would come around and separate them. Eventually he realized that Sora was right. They can handle the member of Organization XIII. They should be fine. It's his father who was in dire trouble.

"Alright. Just be careful!" Aladdin reluctantly replied, then nodded to a just as reluctanted Abu and Carpet and the even more terrified Iago before all four of them went up ahead, leaving Sora, Donald and Goofy to handle Saix.

"You are too meddling for your own good." Saix spoke once more, causing the trio to glare back at him. "Time is running out for you, unless you want to run the risk of the Princesses of Heart falling into our hands. It's better that you leave this world."

"Hey! The three of us were invited to the wedding!" Sora grunted, and Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement after they all summoned their weapons.

This only amused their enemy, because he just smirked again. "How very generous. Then perhaps you should prove if you can keep to your promises."

Before Sora could ask what he meant, Saix held out his hand as a blast of Darkness hit the ground underneath the trio, which it soon formed into a large hole and with the wall now crumbling and becoming rubble, they fell into the hole which soon formed a stone maze lair. While Donald and Goofy began to panic, Sora glared up at the blue-haired man who remained where he was. The trio then fell right through as they felt a deja vu from the Kuzco Empire and Arendalle.

Just as they fell through, the floor closed up back to normal as the wall was gone.

* * *

Aladdin felt guilty for leaving Sora, Donald and Goofy behind, and twice had to force himself not to turn back as there wasn't a thing he could do, especially with the stone wall Saix had brought up. But he knew that there wasn't much of a choice, so he, Abu, Iago and Carpet were on their own. So the four of them peered around a corner and one of the tents built up to see the thieves holding a meeting, and the grey skinned man, Sa'luk, was talking, and he wasn't happy.

Especially since a table nearby was empty.

"...We could have had all the loot from the wedding. But we followed the king's plan. This is what we have to show for our trouble in Agrabah." He was saying, before punching the table so hard that it was snapped in half. "NOTHING!"

Some of the thieves who were more loyal to the clawed man yelled out agreement while most more loyal to Cassim shared glances as they saw how ticked off Sa'luk was and while they were just as annoyed about their failed attempts during the wedding, to them the most important thing was that none of them were captured.

"Your time draws to a close, Cassim." Sa'luk warned darkly as he approached the other man, who now had his mask off and revealing his face; the face that was just like what Aladdin and his friends saw earlier.

"...My father." Aladdin whispered in realization, but at the same time still didn't get the connection.

"If you're talking about spilling my blood," Cassim began with an raised eyebrow, unaffected by the deadly threat. He folded his arms, seemingly more amused. "Well, I just don't see that happening."

"Then let me open your eyes!" Sa'luk sneered as he raised his claws, only to be suddenly blocked off by Aladdin who leaped in and pulled out his sword at the larger man, with both the thief and Cassim, who was stunned to see that the boy he fought earlier had suddenly come here. What was this young foolish man think he was doing?

"Run! I'll handle him!" Aladdin told him, and quickly explained. "I'm Aladdin; you're my father!"

'_What!?_' Cassim thought, stunned and disbelief. Did he just hear right? Could it...possibly be? Was this why Aladdin looked so much like him...because he is his son? Whom he hasn't seen in a long, long time? By then, Sa'luk easily swiped the sword from Aladdin's hand and then shoved him to the ground, which caused the dagger he had earlier to fall out. Cassim picked it and found that it had the same hand print as the medal pin on his cloak. It was then he knew Aladdin was right.

"I don't know about your father, boy, but I'll send you to meet your other ancestors." Sa'luk sneered, and was about to strike when Cassim grabbed him by the wrist to stop him.

"Let him go." The King of Thieves ordered. "The boy is my son."

Aladdin smiled in relief, while the other thieves murmured in confusion and disbelief.

"I gave this dagger to my wife years ago." Cassim explained as he held up the dagger to show it. "I told her to give it to our new born son; Aladdin."

"So it's true?" One fat thief asked, amazed.

"Amazing! The boy is the son of the King of Thieves." Another thief muttered.

Aladdin's eyes widened as he was caught by surprise this time. So his father wasn't kidnapped after all? Did that mean...Saix was actually right? So they actually met again during the during and neither one even knew it? He stood up and asked softly in disbelief, "_You_ are the King of Thieves?"

"Like it or not, we are blood." Cassim said, handing the dagger back to his grown up son. He then said in disbelief, and growing relief. "But look at you; You've grown up so quickly. I'd thought I'd never see you again."

This made the younger man smile, though that still left the question on why his father left in the first place and eventually become the King of Thieves. But before Aladdin could get the chance to ask, Sa'luk intervened and shoved the reunited father and son apart as the grey-skinned man was disgusted by this.

"Blood, smchlood! The boy is an intruder. We has found our secret lair, and knows too much!" Sa'luk declared, as the other 38 thieves, realizing that he was right, all gave out their own words of agreement, just as two have captured Iago, Abu and Carpet. "He and those with him must all die!"

"DIE!?" Iago exclaimed in fear. "No please, mercy here, mercy! I mean, come on, Cassim! He's your son! Me and the monkey are his friends! Not to mention that there are other friends too, and they're fighting an intruder who isn't a friend to anybody and is just as much trouble!"

"Hmph. Mercy? Well, that is your forte, isn't it, Cassim?" Sa'luk responded, "What will be your decision?"

Cassim paused. He couldn't show any weakness, but at the same time, he'd just been reunited with his son who came this way just to find him. While it was foolish, he had to admit Aladdin had shown great courage. It was then that an idea formed into mind.

"Well, the boy could..." He trailed off, then shook his head. "No."

"What? What can the boy do?" One thief asked.

"Nothing. Nevermind."

"What!?" Sa'luk exclaimed impatiently as even he found himself eager to hear what Cassim had to say.

The King of Thieves thought again, and then finally decided to spare everyone from the dread of silence and declared. "The boy could face _'the challenge.'_"

"Ah! The challenge! I almost forgot." The thieves all spoke at the same time, as the two then released three of Aladdin's friends.

"That's that. My son will face the challenge, and if he succeeds, his friends will be spared as well, including those who are facing the other intruder, which actually saves us the trouble in handling him later." Cassim declared.

Sa'luk sneered with a grin, "While I agree with the other intruder part, I shall be the one to test the boy."

"...Where's Sora when you need him?" Iago groaned, already having a bad feeling about this. That Saix guy sure picked a bad time to separate the kid and the other two from all of this.

This was going to be a disaster. He just knew it.

* * *

_When Sora opened his eyes, he expected to be seeing a darker lair within the lair of the Forty Thieves and his head to ache. Instead, he found himself staring at the dark cloud sky which was familiar. On top of that, he was standing and as he looked around, his heart froze as he saw, to his dismay, the floating bodies were blue and almost invisible, and hearts hovering of Riku, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Roxas and Xion._

_To make things worse, he realized that this was the platform that towered over the huge desolate land of thousands of Keyblades. Was this another dream? He hoped that it was._

_"__**You disappoint me, boy.**__"_

_"What?" Sora quickly glanced up, and his heart dropped to his stomach this time, freezing much colder than he ever felt. Because not only was an elderly man standing at the very top of a rock that towered over the platform he was on, but also, to his dismay, Kairi who, as he'd seen in his most recent dreams, in the pink new outfit and new hair style, forcefully levitated in front of the man, arms spread out and both them and her ankles shacked in darkness that kept her chained. She struggled to try and free herself._

_"Kairi!" Sora cried out._

_"Sora!" Kairi cried back, sounding very afraid, silently pleading him for help._

_"__**What you need is...motivation.**__" The man, whom Sora was certain was Master Xehanort, sneered evilly with a twisted cruel grin. He then turned to the struggling Princess of Heart, and told her. "__**You are done, Princess. Farewell...Vessel of Light!**__"_

_"Let her go!" Sora shouted, quickly jumping and leaping to try and save his friend. But even with his newer abilities and restored powers, Xehanort had already raised his Keyblade to strike Kairi at the back._

_"No, please...!" Kairi whimpered, terrified as she glanced over her shoulder. But the response she got was an evil chuckle as Xehanort was disgustingly taking pleasure with all this. So she could only turn back to Sora just as the latter was almost there._

_"SORRRRAA!" Kairi screamed, only managing to get one arm free and reached out for her friend, silently sobbing. Sora even almost touched her hand with his own as he desperately reached out...only for her to scream as Xehanort thrust his Keyblade at her back and she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself._

_While it looked as though he missed, Kairi did end up vanished as she then glowed in pink before vanishing without a trace...gone right before Sora's eyes._

_"_KAIRRRRRIII!_" Sora screamed in utter distraught, devastation and heart-break by the time he reached the top, only to be smacked by the sudden appearance of Ourobos who hit him with it's arm, and he screamed out in pain before crashing back onto the platform in a roll and then skid to a stop. He missed the irritated look on Xehanort's face, and instead pushed himself up slowly, sobbing as Kairi..._

_She was gone. Xehanort had just killed her!_

_"__**A pathetic sight. What a waste.**__" Xehanort's disappointed voice lured Sora to glare up at him, tears falling freely, heart-broken and furious._

_"Why? How could you do this!? WHY HER!?" Sora screamed furiously._

_"__**I told you. You aqquire motivation.**__" Xehanort simply replied, smirking once more. "__**But then again, perhaps there is no need for you. You and all your precious 'friends', especially the Princess who has fulfilled her destiny and only purpose, to ever lasting darkness! You have no place in existence!**__"_

_Before Sora could even consider attacking, Xehanort simply vanished into darkness and to his horror, the Ourobos now towered over the horrified teenager. As he could only watch, the giant Heartless-Monster clutched his hand and all of the hearts of his also already deceased friends were absorbed and then crushed by the monster, while their bodies disappeared into nothing._

_"NOOOOOOO!" Sora screamed, feeling utterly shattered by now. This couldn't be happening...Every single one of them...they were all gone. Before he could even cry even more, the Ourobos towered over him and then lunged right at him with it's hand, ready to grab him and absorb him next._

_Fear struck into his heart as Sora, helpless and not knowing what to do, could only scream before he was caught and then..._

_His world went black..._

* * *

_"...Sora?"_

_'_Who...?_' Sora weakly thought to himself. Vague memories of what happened came as a blur to him. He felt tired. What happened? Where was he? The voices sounded familiar. Blinking his eyes open, the blur in his vision began to clear, and the next thing he knew, he saw two strikingly familiar faces; one was a boy who looked identical to him, only in shorter, golden spiky hair. The other...she looked like Kairi, but with short, black hair. Both of them were wearing black coats...from Organization XIII, kneeling over him._

_Almost instantly, he felt really wide awake, or as awake as he assumed. And...memories of what just happened came flooding back. Sora sat up and turned to the other boy, recognizing him as his Nobody, one who deserved to be his own person._

_"Roxas!" He exclaimed, in a mixture of relief and guilt. As Roxas nodded with a soft and relieved smile, Sora then turned his attention to the girl who held a relieved but sad smile, her hood down like when he saw her in her memories._

_"...Xion." The spiky haired teen murmured. Her memories of her depressed moments and sadness ached his heart enough, but to see her like this in person...it hurt even more. At the same time, however, it only made his determination to save her much stronger too._

_Xion nodded. "It's...really nice to meet you in person, Sora."_

_Sora was about to ask when he realized that he'd been lying on a very familiar glass platform. As he looked around, he realized that he was once again in his Station of Waking. "...Am I dreaming? Or did we...?"_

_"Everything you just saw after you passed out was just another nightmare." Roxas explained. "We saw it...It was horrible."_

_"Kairi must have seen it too, because...she was right there, but she managed to wake up." Xion added, and when Sora looked at her, puzzled, she continued. "I'm not sure why, but...I could feel it. The connection the two of you have has become so strong that you're now sharing the same dreams."_

_"So...Kairi's okay. But she saw that nightmare...from her point of view?" Sora asked, horrified. He couldn't even imagine how she was really feeling if she was seeing his nightmare from her nightmare-captive self. But did that mean Xehanort somehow found a way to intervene and try and destroy their connection?_

_Even worse...he couldn't save her, even if it was just a dream. But...what if it will actually happen?_

_"Sora." Roxas spoke up, causing his original to glance at him. "We know that you're trying to save us." He then shrugged, sheepishly. "Actually, this is the first time Xion and I could connect with each other and you."_

_"Huh?" Sora tilted his head slightly._

_"We couldn't communicate even though we are inside your heart." Xion spoke this time again. "Sadly, this is the only time we can face each other like this. When you wake up, we'll both be cut off from each other again. But...that's just how it is."_

_Sora could sense more than hear the tears in the poor girl's face, and felt Roxas's pain as well. They missed each other, and he was pretty sure that they missed Axel, too. Still, he was determined that they would all be together again, outside of his heart and body. They deserved it after everything they went through. That still left one thing on his mind, though, when he thought about it._

_"Xion, can I ask you something?" Sora hesitantly asked. When the black-haired girl shared a glance with Roxas who, his expression turning into a mixture of sorrow and anger, nodded, she nodded as well. "How did your heart end up inside me? What happened to you? I've been trying to figure out what Namine told you meant, and what you found out about yourself, and figure out a way how to save you."_

_"I don't think you can save me, Sora. Not unless I get a vessel like you're working on for Roxas, and what Xehanort did with me when I was still...well, I guess you could say I was still growing my own heart like Roxas, Namine and Axel at the time." Xion shook her head in sadness._

_"I don't get it."_

_"You don't remember, but...you went into Castle Oblivion, where your memories were replaced with fake ones."_

_"Um...Isn't that where Riku met Namine?" The teenage boy asked, a bit dumbly. Xion was right, though. _

_"Yeah, and you did, too. But you don't remember." Roxas answered this time. "I only went inside the front enterance looking for Xion, but...I almost passed out and Axel had to take me to Twilight Town."_

_"I saw that memory too." Sora acknowledged. "But...what's that got to do with Xion?"_

_"Everything." Xion breathed shakily. She felt terrified to say this, but after everything that's happened, and both she and Roxas were fully aware that Sora had seen both their and Ventus' memories, she knew, it was time for him to know the truth. "I...I wasn't born a human, or a Nobody. What I really am...is a replica."_

_"What!?" Sora exclaimed, eyes wide in disbelief. Did he just hear right? Xion...is a replica!?_

_The black-haired girl nodded, and tried to avoid the fury and hurt in Roxas's eyes as she continued. "I was created to serve as Roxas' replacement, and to absorb his powers and your memories...the memories of Kairi. That's why I look like her, because of your memories of Kairi. But...over time when I began to go on missions with Roxas while Axel was away, my heart developed on it's own and none of us even knew it. I didn't even know that I was just a replica until I began to see your memories, and then I went to Castle Oblivion."_

_"And that's where you realized you weren't Kairi..." Sora summed up, as he remembered seeing that memory in Agrabah._

_"Xemnas, Saix and Xigbar knew, because they wanted to combine me and Roxas to become another version of you, Sora. Axel must've found out a bit later, and when he did...he didn't want me to know, because he and Roxas didn't think I was just a puppet. It's because of that, your memories halted and would've made you stay asleep forever and Roxas began to grow weaker. Riku doesn't remember, but he, Namine and DiZ found out that, in order for you to get your memories and power back, Roxas and I had to return to you." Xion continued._

_"So Riku knew about this? How come no one even remembers you until now?" Sora asked, shocked by this information._

_"Because once I was gone, there wouldn't be any of me left, even from everyone's memories. I asked Namine and Riku to look after Roxas until...until his time was right. But then...Axel was forced to take me back, and Xemnas reprogramed me to absorb Roxas. I didn't have a choice, but I'm glad...that he defeated me." Xion explained._

_"Before I had to fight Xion, I left because Axel wouldn't tell me...because he let Xion go in the first place, and tried to protect me since she'd became so strong. But at that point I wanted to find her, and figure out who I was. Before Riku captured me and I saw Axel again before I rejoined you, the last thing he said me..was that he would miss me." Roxas said, sounding like he wanted to cry as the painful reminder of what happened came back to him._

_Sora felt guilty for this. "That means..."_

_"I returned to you after Roxas defeated me. All that's left of me now is my heart...even if I'm still just a puppet." Xion nodded, shuddering as she struggled to hold in her emotions, the urge to cry so strong that Sora felt useless._

_"You're _not_ a puppet!" Roxas protested, tears already visible in his eyes. "Xion, I told you before. Both you and Axel are my best friends! I don't care what anybody says about you, or I'm just Sora's Nobody to be like this forever, but you're you."_

_Sora could see that both Roxas and Xion were struggling not to cry, and it hurt him even more. It wasn't fair, for either of them. While he realized this was what Xion's past-self in the replica built to host her early developed self meant, that didn't change his opinion on her either. He'd seen how close Xion was to Roxas and Axel, just like Sora was to Riku and Kairi, and Ventus to Terra and Aqua._

_"He's right." Sora nodded in agreement finally, causing his Nobody and Replica to glance at him, now their turn to look puzzled. "Who cares about who created you? Neither of you guys are me or Kairi or anybody else but yourselves! Both of you have hearts, and it's my fault that you guys and Ventus are stuck inside me."_

_He then stood up as he then held out a hand each for them to help stand up. Roxas and Xion gazed him as they saw the determination in Sora's face. Sharing a glance, the two then stood up with his help._

_"You both deserve to be your own selves, and that's what you are." Sora continued reassuringly this time, and while he still felt uneasy about the nightmare he saw, his determination to save Roxas and Xion and everyone else remained. "I'm not sure how to get the new bodies for you guys, but I'm gonna save you."_

_"You will?" Xion asked, with a mixture of hope and worry._

_Sora nodded._

_"You sure seem to be determined to get us out, Sora." Roxas couldn't help but tease._

_"Aw, c'mon! What right do I have in keeping you and Xion and Ventus stuck here? If it were up to me, you guys wouldn't have came back to me with your hearts fully intact in the first place." Sora pointed out with a smirk. "I don't care if I had to spent another year or ten years taking a nap if the others had more time."_

_He then remembered what Ansem the Wise mentioned after saying that the rest was up to him before his death, and Sora shrugged, a bit uneasily. "And I think Ansem the Wise knew that too before he died."_

_"...Yeah." Roxas nodded, relcutantedly. "Sora...Sorry for causing you so much trouble."_

_"It's no biggie." Sora reassured, just as __area brightened in light, alarming him and the other two._

_"You're waking up...The others need you." Xion realized. "You still have to help everyone."_

_"...Y-yeah. But I promise I'll figure something out to save you! Just...give me a little more time, okay? I'll even do my best to convince your past self to stay away from Xehanort." Sora promised as he felt himself feeling drowsy again, only this time he was aware that he was waking up to the real world. "Both of you."_

_"If you need help, I'll be there too." Roxas promised as well._

_"And I'll do my best to guide you when you see my other self." Xion promised, then quickly added. "And Sora? Kairi will be alright, because she has you."_

_While Sora didn't get what Xion meant about Kairi having him, he smiled warmly and looked at both of him, saying. "Thank you...Well, see you soon."_

_The next thing he knew, his vision went white..._

* * *

"Sora! Wake up, Sora!"

"Gah!" Sora jolted upright, panting as he was startled awake. At first he felt a bit confused, until memories of what really happened came flooding back, because the area he, Donald and Goofy, who were both kneeling beside him in worry, were in, was a dim lit, lair like cavern that resembled to the lair of the Forty Thieves and the labyrinth of the Cave of Wonders.

"Are you okay?" Goofy asked, worriedly.

"Y-yeah. Sorry, just had another nightmare." Sora, realizing what happened, and sighed in relief even though he felt shaken by the dark vision. As his mind tried not to drift to the horrible moments, he also remembered what else he saw and his eyes wiened in realization. "And then I talked to Roxas and Xion."

"You did?" Donald asked, surprised.

"Yeah! I learned a little bit more about them." Sora nodded, then sighed as he then remembered Xion's identity and while he still hasn't seen those memories, he knew that that they would only confirm her words even more. "I even found out who Xion is and...what happened to her."

"Was she somebody's Nobody?" Goofy queried.

"No. Though like with Roxas and Namine, and even Axel, Xion's heart grew on it's own." Sora replied, placing a hand to his chest. It hurt knowing that she'd been artifically created to absorb Roxas, and the more her own heart formed, the more aware she became and felt terrified; both for herself and Roxas and Axel. If he had to guess, Xion left because she didn't want to lose or hurt her friends even if it meant she'd be forgotten until now. And the fact that Axel had let her go before he'd been forced to retrieve her just proved that the redhead cared too.

Even if Roxas had been angry and confused at the time, which also hurt.

"Well, who is she?" Donald asked, impatiently.

Sora sighed. "I...It's not my place to say. I don't think she'd like that."

"Huh?" Donald and Goofy asked, confused. Why wouldn't Sora tell them? He wasn't about to do what both Riku and King Mickey did, was he?

"What's really important is that she's herself and Roxas is Roxas. I'm still gonna save them; they just need replicas to put their hearts into." The spiky-haired teen said.

Goofy quirked an eyebrow. "But uh...what did happen to Xion?"

"Let's just say...she lost her body and her heart went inside me. She was really upset when she told me because...like I said, it's not my place to say." Sora replied, apologetically rubbing the back of his head.

"Sora..." Donald murmured.

"I know. I'm doing what Riku and the King did." The teenager grumbled, shaking his head. "Sorry guys, but Xion's been hurt for so long, I don't want to make things worse. Please?"

While Donald thought it was best if Sora did say what Xion was afraid of and maybe there was a way to make her feel better until they somehow saved her, Goofy on the other hand felt like he understood the reason and the way how Sora mentioned that Xion was upset made him feel sorry for the poor girl.

"Garwsh, she must've been so scared and sad." The Captain of the Knights muttered sympathically.

"...So was Kairi in the nightmare." Sora muttered, hanging his head low. "Not sure how or why, but Roxas and Xion saw the nightmare too, and they even figured out that the connection between me and Kairi is strong now that...we might be sharing the same dreams lately."

Even though Xion reassured him that Kairi would be fine because she had him, Sora was still worried sick about her. If he felt absolutely terrified about what he had witnessed, and hoped that would never happen, Kairi must be feeling just as terrified if she was witnessing it in the Timeless Realm. He hoped that Merlin would be able to help her and Lea.

"Anyway, I guess we'd better figure out how to get outta here and find Al' and the others." The spiky-haired teen finally declared, standing up and tried not to look at the concerned looks on his two friends faces. He glanced around and sighed after looking up. "Knowing Saix, he's most likely trying to do what the rest of those has-beens have been doing lately."

"Aw...It's like that icy maze Larxene trapped us in all over again." Goofy groaned.

"Hey, at least we're not gonna freeze." Sora reassured, placing his hands behind his head, then gazed up ahead and found that there was a little bit of light down the tunnel. From flaming torches most likely, but it was better than nothing. "Let's get going."

Despite their concerns, Donald and Goofy knew that Sora was right. Plus, their only pathway at the moment is the one right in front of them. As Sora lowered his arms, he took the lead with his companions following, wondering what to expect here in order to reunite with Aladdin, Abu, Iago and Carpet.

Fully unaware of what their friends had discovered.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the lack of battles and the chapter being short, but I'll try and make it up for it. And while the nightmares are pretty dark, well...let's just stay that one of the parts may happen, but it's definitely not as bad as it looks like at the moment.**

**(1) I just couldn't resist in putting in the references of the Aladdin TV series, since I love it so much. I wish it was out on a DVD Box Set along with my other favorite Disney TV shows.**

**See you in the next chapter!**


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